Image by courtesy Ten members of UMass Lowell's Business Professionals of America (BPA) chapter earned top finishes and professional certifications at the recent BPA National Leadership Conference in Nashville.
Ten UMass Lowell students tested their skills against thousands of peers from across the country at the Business Professionals of America (BPA) National Leadership Conference, returning from Nashville with a national championship, several top-five finishes and industry-recognized certifications.
Competing alongside nearly 7,000 attendees from 856 chapters representing 29 states and countries, UMass Lowell BPA chapter founder Timothy Nguyen '24, '26 won a national title in Management, Marketing and Human Resources Concepts. The team earned several other top-five finishes and professional certifications during the conference.
Students demonstrated technical knowledge and professional skills in competitive events that mirror real-world workplace challenges, including presentations, interviews, exams and team projects across business, finance, information technology and communications.
The UMass Lowell chapter, founded in 2024 by Nguyen, a business alum, provides opportunities for students of any major to build leadership skills, expand their professional networks and compete in career-focused events.
UMass Lowell earned two runner-up finishes in Nashville. Chapter president Rylie Hamblin, a junior business major, finished second in Banking and Finance, while Cesar Cardoza, a senior electrical engineering major, and Luis Pinto, a junior computer engineering major, teamed up for second place in Network Design Team.
Xavier Melo, a sophomore biomedical engineering major, placed third in Fundamental Word Processing, while Jaskiran Dukes, a junior mechanical engineering major, finished fourth in Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications. Vincent Tous, a sophomore computer engineering major, placed fourth in Basic Office Systems and Procedures.
In the Podcast Production Team category, junior business majors Elijah Ngim and Erica Pen and junior civil engineering major Serena Nguyen took fifth place.
Several students also earned industry-recognized certifications from Cisco, Microsoft, Certiport and Precision Exams, giving them credentials that can strengthen their résumés and support future internships and careers.
Image by courtesy BPA chapter founder Timothy Nguyen '24, '26 finished first in the Management, Marketing and Human Resources Concepts category.
The conference also marked the conclusion of Nguyen’s one-year term as BPA’s national vice president for the post-secondary division, making him the first UMass Lowell student to complete a national officer term with the organization. As a member of BPA’s Executive Council, he helped plan and host the National Leadership Conference while representing more than 60,000 members nationwide.
Nguyen, who completed his MBA this spring while working full time as a certified financial coach at Hanscom Federal Credit Union, says seeing students succeed at the national level has been especially rewarding.
“It was an honor to represent UMass Lowell on the national stage,” Nguyen says.