MACCRAY High School student Molly Loe practiced part of a research presentation, while MHS students Xochitl Rodriguez and Say Mue Paw Pah listened and offered feedback. Events at Friday’s regional Business Professionals of America competition covered a wide range of business skills, from computer programming to public speaking.

MARSHALL — The halls at Marshall High School were bustling with students on Friday morning, but it wasn’t an ordinary school day. Students were dressed up, practicing speeches or making final adjustments to presentation slides.

At one study table, MACCRAY High School student Molly Loe was going over her notes for a talk about nurse practitioners.

“It’s a new experience, but it’s definitely given me a lot of chances to work on public speaking skills,” Loe said of being in Business Professionals of America (BPA).

On Friday, the annual Region 8 Business Professionals of America competition was held at Marshall High School. Students from eight different schools competed in a wide range of events covering business skills and topics.

This is the second year that regionals was held in Marshall, said BPA advisor Brenda Kellen.

Many of the students at Friday’s regional competition were competing in more than one event. Some events included written tests, while others featured public speaking, presentations or creating a media project.

At the same table where Loe was practicing her talk, MHS students Xochitl Rodriguez and Say Mue Paw Pah were also waiting their turns to give health research presentations. While it could be a little nerve-wracking to speak, it was good to hear from the BPA judges, Pah said.

“They give you feedback, which is great,” she said.

Rodriguez said she liked getting a chance to build up experience from competing in BPA. “You can check every year, how much better you’ve done,” she said.

Some BPA competitions were team events. On Friday morning, MHS students Jonathan Eben, Connor Martinson and Chase Werner were getting ready to present their project for podcast production. For the competition, BPA students needed to record and edit their own podcast, present it to judges and hold a Q&A session about it.

“You have a specific topic,” Eben said. This year, students were examining the effects of artificial intelligence on business education. Eben said their team’s podcast was titled “Human Intelligence Missing.”

“It’s nothing like anything I’ve ever done,” Martinson said of being on the podcast team. In addition to examining the topic, there were a lot of technical things to learn about editing the program.

“The time limit on it is the real kicker,” Martinson said. There was a lot of material to try and fit into the podcast’s running time, he said.

Several students said working together with fellow BPA members was one of the best parts of the activity.

“It’s fun to work with these guys,” Eben said of his teammates.

“Getting to work with friends is the best part,” Pah said.

Seeing how young people grow from their experiences was one of the rewarding parts of BPA, Kellen said. “Just to see students take what they’ve learned and apply it in a real-world competition,” she said. “These kids are brilliant.”

Competing in BPA brought together everyone from athletes to speech students and computer programmers, she said.

“BPA is that organization that is for everyone,” Kellen said. “Students make a lot of friends.”