Meet Jack Twait ’25, Iowa’s Business Professionals of America (BPA) Vice President of Marketing and manager of West’s student-run coffee shop, Pump it Up. Twait has been a member of West BPA for three years and has been on the executive board for two years.
Twait’s roles at West High include working with other members of the BPA executive board to plan weekly meetings, register peers for BPA membership and mentor aspiring BPA members. He also works to unite the chapter by planning team bonding activities, including pumpkin decorating competitions and the annual BPA pancake breakfast in December.
“It’s fun helping people on a more individual basis, on the local level, doing a lot of things like coaching new members on ways they can be the best they can possibly be,” Twait said.
On the state level, Twait has been working with the other student officer members to plan the two statewide conferences for BPA. As the vice president of marketing, his roles include reaching out to various businesses for the Fall Leadership Conference career fair and ensuring a great time for all members. Along with planning various events, Twait manages the newsletter and works hard to include smaller Iowa chapters, allowing them to become more involved in BPA.
“I know a lot of times for the newer, smaller chapters, it can be hard to get in the loop,” Twait said. “So we’re really trying to help them.”
Along with his responsibilities on the state board, Twait has been the manager of Pump It Up, West’s student-run coffee shop for the past two years, and has gotten a lot out of the experience. Right from the interviewing process he is involved in all the aspects of managing the business.
“[Pump It Up] taught me a lot about how businesses run, and just kind of the back end, the behind-the-scenes of how the world works,” Twait said.
Apart from his daily responsibilities as the manager, Twait believes he has learned more about real-world experiences during his time as manager of Pump it Up.
“Pump It Up is something that [as a] whole can teach you a lot about business that you’re not necessarily going to learn in a classroom,” Twait said.
One of the skills Twait learns on the job is managing other employees and their schedules. Matab Yagoub ’27, an employee at Pump it Up speaks on this, highlighting how helpful Twait has been both inside and outside the shop.
“As a manager, Jack is really hard working and flexible. He is also willing to understand if you can’t come to your shift, whether it’s a family reason or you’re just not at school,” Yagoub said.
West BPA advisors Diane Fickel and Emily Hudachek have also noticed Twait as a natural leader.
“Jack has a lot of drive, so he loves a leadership role. He does not want to be behind the scenes. He wants to be upfront,” Fickel said.
Twait has found his passion in marketing and plans to use his business skills learned through BPA and Pump it Up, for his future career. He plans to go to college at the University of Iowa’s Tippie School of Business to pursue a marketing degree after graduation. Twait credits BPA for helping him realize what he wants to do in the future.
“There’s definitely so many skills that you might say you can learn in a book, but don’t truly learn until you experience them firsthand, and BPA helps you get those firsthand experiences,” Twait said.
Twait’s favorite parts about BPA are the traveling and the people. Twait has been able to travel to Anaheim, California and Chicago for the annual BPA national conference.
“You’ll find a lot of like minded individuals [at the conference] who are all kind of aiming towards the same goal, but going different routes,” Twait said.
For all new BPA members, Twait’s advice is to get involved, believing there are many opportunities in BPA for anyone who is motivated enough to pursue them.
“It’s not just a club, it’s an organization,” Twait said. “The steps you can take are all going to be super beneficial and enjoyable, and you can really see a lot of success in doing it.”
