For the first time in school history, Triton High School students can call themselves National Champions — three times over. The Triton Business Professionals of America (BPA) chapter delivered a record-setting performance at the 2026 BPA National Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, where they competed against nearly 7,000 members from around the world and brought home three national titles, a National Runner-Up finish, four National Ambassador Torch Awards, two additional National Top 10 finishes, and two Honorable Mention BPA Cares Awards.
Earning the title of National Champion were Frankie Gann and Logan Skjeveland in Virtual Branding Team and Abigail Wirkus in Health Administration Procedures, while EJ Okeefe made it a Triton sweep by claiming the National Runner-Up title in Health Administration Procedures. Additional national qualifiers representing Triton included Avery Reiser in C# Programming and freshman Sophia Hernandez in Health Administration Procedures, who made school history as Triton’s first freshman national qualifier. Genevieve Starkson also represented Minnesota on the national stage throughout the conference in her role as Minnesota BPA Vice President.
Another historic milestone for Triton came when Ollie Akkerman, Vika Kundel, Skjeveland, and Wirkus were honored with the National Ambassador Torch Award — the first students in chapter history to earn the distinction. Torch Awards promote professionalism and leadership in both career development and personal growth, and an Ambassador is defined as “a diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and accredited as a representative of the organization.” Kundel found additional success by placing as a Top 10 Finalist in two of her events, Cybersecurity and Intermediate Word Processing. Triton BPA’s accomplishments extended beyond competition as the chapter also earned Honorable Mention recognition in both the Marketing & Public Relations and Membership Explosion BPA Cares categories.
“It’s hard to put into words how proud I am; nothing feels like it’s enough” said Advisor Rebecca Goossens. “If you look at their faces and reactions… I think the pride and joy you see speaks for itself.”
While in Nashville, Triton was among the nearly 7,000 attendees representing over 850 school chapters across the United States and in Canada, China, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, where students vied for top honors in BPA’s Workplace Skill Assessment Program competitions, which cover the areas of business administration, finance, digital communication and design, information technology, health administration, management, marketing, and communications. In addition to competition, attendees had opportunities to network with other BPA members, connect with industry professionals, complete certification exams, elect National officers, explore college and career opportunities, visit famous attractions in the region, and engage in service activities supporting Special Olympics, BPA’s national service partner.
“Attending the National Leadership Conference is a powerful experience for our students,” said Patrick W. Schultz, BPA’s Executive Director. “They not only demonstrate their skills at a national level but also grow as leaders, build confidence, and connect with peers and professionals from across the country.
While 2026 is one for the history books, Triton BPA has found unprecedented success in their program since Goossens started in the fall of 2012. In her first year, she had one student qualify for the 2013 Nationals that May, then grew that to a group of 6 qualifiers the next year. Since then, she’s had an additional 89 National Trip Winners, of which 36 placed as Top 10 Finalists. In 2024, Triton crowned their first National Runner-Ups, and Triton has now produced National Runner-Up finishers for three consecutive years. These milestones helped pave the way for Triton’s first national champions this year.
“I cannot express how much appreciation and love I feel seeing all the support for my kiddos and the continuous growth in them and our program,” said Goossens. “To our families, community, sponsors, and especially our alumni— this is made possible by the people like you who came before, who built, and who believed in our program.”
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Founded in 1966, BPA is a premier Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) serving middle, high school, and college students preparing for careers by providing opportunities for students to develop leadership, technical, and workplace skills through competition, education, and community service. The organization serves more than 60,000 members in nearly 1,500 chapters across the United States and internationally. Learn more at www.bpa.org.
Front- EJ Okeefe, Frankie Gann, Logan Skjeveland, Abigail Wirkus
Back- Rebecca Goossens, Vika Kundel, Sophia Hernandez, Genevieve Starkson, Avery Reiser, Ollie Akkerman
Logan Skjeveland and Frankie Gann Celebrate Winning The National Championship in Virtual Branding Team
Abigail Wirkus and EJ Okeefe sweep the podium with 1st and 2nd in Health Administration Procedures
Logan Skjeveland, Abigail Wirkus, EJ Okeefe, and Frankie Gann celebrate their wins
Ollie Akkerman, Vika Kundel, Abigail Wirkus, and Logan Skjeveland earn their National Ambassador Torch Award
Vika Kundel interacts with a judge for her Cybersecurity project during the National Showcase
EJ Okeefe, Sophia Hernandez, and Abigail Wirkus all competed in Health Administration Procedures
Avery Reiser competes in C# programming
Genevieve Starkson, Frankie Gann, and Vika Kundel sign the Governor's Register at the TN State Capitol
Touring the TN State Capitol
Meeting with the owner of Nash.TN
Touring the Grand Ole Opry