Iowa City West Business Professionals of America (BPA) kicked off the race to prepare for the National Leadership Conference (NLC), which will be held in Chicago, Illinois May 10-14, by participating in chapter bonding.
The West Executive Board took charge of planning, providing hundreds of colorful and intricate beads to make friendship bracelets at the weekly chapter morning meeting April 9. Students then wrote their names on slips of paper and drew someone else out of a white paper bag to find out who they were making the bracelet for.
Jack Twait ’25, Iowa BPA’s vice president of marketing and local executive board member, notes on the camaraderie of the meeting.
“The friendship bracelets were really special because we had everyone draw random names, so there were a lot of members who really were forced to put themselves out there and talk to people who they maybe had never talked to before,” Twait said. “It was really special to see a lot of different clusters of members who aren’t usually clustered together, and a lot of people meeting each other for the first time — really connecting — which is super important before Nationals and something we are going to look towards in the coming weeks and up until we go to Chicago.”
This is the second installment of community-building within the club, with students also participating in a mock interview activity April 2. Members took turns in a speed-dating style of talking to practice their interview skills and develop a firm handshake.
Still, there is more to come. Twait recognizes that Nationals is an exciting opportunity to prepare for and is looking forward to seeing his fellow peers thrive.
“I think Nationals this year is going to be a lot different than what it was last year in Anaheim because we are going to be in downtown Chicago and there’s going to be so much to do in just a [small] area. We’re once again taking a big group, so I’m really looking forward to seeing all the members who excelled a lot at State and new members achieving a lot of success at Nationals,” Twait said. “It’s something last year that was really cool to see, and now seeing it for the second time and from a more behind-the-scenes perspective, being on the Executive Board, I’m excited to see where a lot of these people can excel themselves.”
