University of Oregon Lundquist College of Business students in Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) headed to New York City in August as one of eight teams competing in a national showdown. The four-member team presented in the Best Practices Competition on the topic "Chapter Sustainability: The Future of Beta Alpha Psi" at a regional BAP conference in Seattle in April, beating out teams from the University of Washington, Gonzaga University, and Western Washington University. That win earned students the elite honor of travelling to New York for the national competition, where they garnered one of the top three spots with an honorable mention.
"We put together a powerhouse team filled with good speakers, good thinkers, and good talent," said Alan Akwai, a graduate student in the Master of Accounting Program and outgoing BAP chapter president who served and as the team's coach.
The team included seniors Reed Engdall, Ashley Kennel, Roy Matsunaga, and David Wallenstein. Among the ideas the group came up with to strengthen the BAP organization was a monthly newsletter to enhance ties between alumni and the organization's seventy to ninety local members. BAP members launched the publication in March 2009, and three editions have been published. The group also hosted a concert at the Erb Memorial Union to highlight the hidden talents of accounting students.
The team delivered a more polished version of its regional presentation at the national BAP conference in Brooklyn. Students hosted several events to help cover travel their expenses, and the $500 prize from the Seattle win also helped. The majority of the expenses, though, were covered by the accounting department and the Lundquist College's Accounting Circle, an organization of business community members who advocate accounting education.
In addition to the honorable mention in the Best Practices Competition at the national conference, the UO chapter was one of fourteen awarded Gold Chapter Status out of 285 BAP chapters worldwide. The honor makes the UO chapter not only the second oldest--founded in 1921--but in the top tier globally.