K-State at Salina group has beginner's luck at regional business competition

Media Relations and Marketing
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506-0117
Phone: 785-532-6415
Fax: 785-532-6418

Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.

Sources: Kathy Brockway, 785-826-2695, kjbrock@salina.k-state.edu;
and Aaron Westerman, 785-826-2673, aww@salina.k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Katie Mayes, 785-826-2642, kmayes@salina.k-state.edu

Thursday, March 29, 2007

K-STATE AT SALINA GROUP HAS BEGINNER'S LUCK AT REGIONAL BUSINESS COMPETITION

SALINA -- Members of Kansas State University at Salina's fledgling chapter of Business Professionals of America went to their first regional competition recently and brought home top honors.

Robert Graham, freshman in electronic and computer engineering technology, Salina, placed first in VB.Net programming. Though Graham had attended Business Professionals of America meets while in high school, he said competing on the collegiate level was a bit more nerve-racking.

"Leaving the competition room left me feeling anxious to hear the results," he said. "With the few errors I had made in my VB program, however, I honestly did not expect to walk home with the first-place trophy."

Graham also placed in the top 10 in the Financial Math and Analysis and the Management/Marketing/Human Resources Concepts categories.

Nathan Maresch, a senior in electronic and computer engineering technology, Nekoma, earned second place in PC troubleshooting. Maresch also scored in the top 10 in the Computer Security, Information Technology Concepts, Management/Marketing/Human Resources, Financial Math and Analysis, and Parliamentary Procedure Concepts categories.

The competition was Feb. 15-17 in Wichita.

Both Graham and Maresch qualified to compete in the national Business Professionals of America competition in New York in May.

K-State at Salina's chapter is not an official campus chapter yet, but has been established as a subcommittee of the Students in Free Enterprise group on campus.