Meet Karen Liu ‘24, Iowa Business Professionals of America’s (BPA) secondary president. She has been involved in BPA since freshman year and is also on West BPA’s executive board. As state president, she works closely with her fellow state officers to plan conferences for members. On the local level, she helps run meetings and holds fundraisers for West High’s BPA chapter. Learn more about her impact and how she serves the BPA community.
Describe yourself in three words.
Kind, confident and bubbly.
What is your role in BPA?
On the local level, I’m an exec board member. We are the behind-the-scenes [planners]. We run the meetings, lead the members and are a telephone of information from Diane Fickel, our club advisor, to the members. On the state level, I am the BPA president. I work with the Board of Trustees and my fellow five other state officers. We plan the Fall Leadership Conference and State Leadership Conference alongside new things we’re gonna embellish into Iowa BPA, like working with advisors and trying to get new chapters to join BPA.
What is your favorite part of the program?
Naturally, people would think of the national leadership conferences in California or Dallas, but for me, it’s always the pancake breakfast mornings. The exec board and I get to school at 6:45. We get there bright and early. We have to set up all the pancake grills, and it is always so hectic because Mrs. Fickle and Ms. Hudachek let us lead the charge. It’s always so funny to see how it turns out. It definitely shifts the mood of BPA morning meetings. We ask our members to get there early for a good cause because we make tie blankets to donate to shelters. It’s definitely a really warm environment that morning, and it’s the meeting before winter break, so the Christmas spirit is high; I always love that meeting so much.
What are some challenges you have faced?
During the winter, when the workload definitely increases and BPA season really kicks into place, we’re working 20 hours a week. It’s just hard to get the motivation, especially in the winter when it’s cold and it gets dark early and the sun doesn’t rise until late in the morning.
Any tips for facing those challenges?
Finding myself a strong support system in the beginning of my BPA journey has been really helpful. I always know that I have people around me who will help motivate me and keep me on track. Mrs. Fickel and Ms. Hudachek have been such a strong support system. They’re always there for me. They really drive me to where I need to be, and they always have my best interests at heart. It’s really nice having a nice strong support system that helped [with] finding my niche, which has been really helpful throughout my BPA career.
Future plans as president and executive officer?
The Iowa BPA state officers and I are working to enhance the experience for Iowa BPA members by making it more inclusive and easier to join. We have a new program that we are thinking about enforcing in the upcoming years, and we’re also trying to make it more interactive by sending out a new newsletter to advisors and members and being more active on the website and social media.
