Though he just joined Business Professionals of America (BPA) last fall, Lake Orion High School senior Tyler Barry beat out hundreds of the country’s ‘best and brightest? at BPA’s national leadership conference in Anaheim, CA.
Barry earned first place in an objective test on management, marketing and human resources concepts during his stay on the west coast, May 4 to 9. The top score made him the high school’s very first national champion. Barry is the son of Mike and Lisa Barry, of Clarkston.
‘It’s the best and brightest from across the country so it’s great for him to have done so well,? said Jennifer Ohlrich, LOHS’s BPA advisor and one of Barry’s teachers. ‘I’m extremely proud. There were 5,600 students in Anaheim, CA, and to be a winner in any event is extremely impressive.?
Barry says business and finance is something he began looking into a little over a year ago.
‘Before I ever joined (BPA), I researched business a lot because that’s what I want to do,? he said, noting that information he needed for the test ‘was all prior knowledge.?
The LOHS senior says he plans on studying financial management after high school at Northwood University in Midland, though he notes, ‘I’m not sure if I want to do corporate management or personal finance, like financial planning.?
Barry’s national title will earn him either $2,500 or $5,000 a year in scholarship money from the university.
This is the second time in 11 years of BPA participation that Lake Orion High School students have gone to nationals, making Barry one of four Dragons to participate.