Tracy Adamson Elected BPA National President

Accounting major represents post-secondary students from across the USA

Tracy Adamson, 34, an Accounting major at Dakota County Technical College, was elected post-secondary national president of Business Professionals of America at the BPA 2013 National Leadership Conference, “Uncover Your Magic,” May 8–12 in Orlando, Fla. Tracy was attending the conference to participate in a range of competitive events along with 14 other DCTC students. The students qualified to attend the NLC after placing at the BPA State Leadership Conference, which took place in October 2012 in Mankato, Minn. Every participating student from DCTC placed in an event at the national level.

Lyle Stelter, an accounting instructor and BPA faculty advisor, has been involved with BPA for more than 20 years. Stelter was impressed by the caliber of students he and Marie Saunders, also an accounting instructor and BPA advisor, brought to Orlando.

“Competing in the Business Professionals of America Workplace Skills Assessment Program changes the lives of students,” Stelter said. “Students prove the competence they have acquired in career programs at the college. Many students don’t realize how much they have learned and how advanced they will be in the workplace. This year—for the first time in my tenure as an advisor—100 percent of our students won a national award.”

Tracy Adamson •  DCTC Accounting Major
Achievements at the BPA 2012 National Leadership Conference
  • Elected President of the BPA National Association–Post-secondary Division
  • Entrepreneurship: 1st place
  • Presentation Management Team: 1st place
  • National Merit Scholar Test: 4th place (out of 450 contestants)

Tracy Adamson is on track to graduate from DCTC in December 2013 with her A.A.S. degree in accounting. Tracy’s future goals include earning a B.S. in accounting from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and then going on to take her CPA exam to become a certified public accountant. The Uniform CPA Examination is one of the three Es (sometimes 4) that define the requirements for CPA licensure—Education, Examination and Experience (and sometime Ethics). Of all the Es, the CPA exam alone is uniform and accepted for CPA licensure by all U.S. jurisdictions.

Originally from New Prague, Minn., and a current resident of Wyoming, a rural town of 7,800 in Chisago County on the east-central border of the state, Tracy is taking all online courses this semester, which works great for her schedule and the responsibilities of raising a 6-year-old son, Nick, who was diagnosed three years ago as high-functioning on the autism spectrum.

“Learning that Nick is autistic was actually a change for the better because we were able to get treatment,” Tracy said. “Nick is just starting Cub Scouts and he is very excited.”

Tracy’s duties as BPA post-secondary national president involve working with other BPA officers to assist current and future members of the organization. Projects in the works include putting together webinars and creating online videos about training to become a BPA member and running a successful BPA chapter. Tracy is a member of the BPA National Board of Trustees and her term as recording vice president of the Minnesota Association of Business Professionals of America College Division will conclude in February 2014 at the BPA State Leadership Conference in Alexandria, Minn. She worked the BPA booth at the Renaissance Fair in fall 2013 as a member of BPA Minnesota. She’s also president of the BPA chapter at DCTC.

The DCTC Accounting program invited Rebecca Otto, state auditor of Minnesota, to speak to accounting students in November 2012. Tracy Adamson had the honor of introducing Otto to her classmates and she remembers the high-profile auditor as easygoing and down to earth. “Rebecca shows where you can go in the accounting field,” Tracy said. “As as accountant, you need to be organized and show a great attention to detail. You also need to have a love for numbers. I happen to like math, but I wasn’t always the greatest at algebra word problems. Luckily, DCTC has an excellent math tutor in Peter Onesirosan. He made algebra word problems make sense.”

Tracy has a busy schedule ahead of her. She is finishing up her A.A.S. degree, but she will miss DCTC and her program when she graduates. “I love the instructors,” she said. “They take the time to make sure their students succeed. The online courses are excellent. They include lectures that make you feel like you are right in the classroom even though you are doing all the work from home.”

She will also be attending the BPA 2014 National Leadership Conference in Indianapolis from April 30 to May 4. “I will be giving a speech and helping raise money through the NLC Walk for Special Olympics,” she said. “One thing BPA has done for me is take away my fear of public speaking. On a scale of one to ten, before BPA my fear was a ten. Now it’s a one.”

Accounting Instructor Marie Saunders agrees that BPA has been a valuable experience for Tracy. “I have seen a tremendous growth in Tracy’s professionalism and leadership skills,” Saunders said. “She has inspired other students through her commitment to BPA, which has helped grow our BPA chapter on campus.”

Tracy is looking forward to the future, especially the opportunity to become a certified public accountant because CPAs have so many options. “I’m open to several career possibilities—auditing, managerial accounting, maybe even more schooling,” she said. “I am happy to wait and see what the world has to offer.”

About Business Professionals of America

With more than 2,300 chapters in 23 states, BPA ranks as the nation’s leading CTSO, or Career and Technical Student Organization, for students following career paths in business management, office administration, information technology and related fields. BPA supports business and information technology educators at the secondary and post-secondary levels through co-curricular exercises founded on national standards. The BPA mission centers on preparing a world-class workforce by advancing student skill sets in leadership, citizenship, academics and technology.

For more information about Accounting at DCTC, contact:
For more information about Business Professionals of America at DCTC, contact:
  • Lyle Stelter
    Accounting Instructor and BPA Advisor
    651-423-8423
  • Marie Saunders
    Accounting Instructor and BPA Advisor
    651-423-8390