海角社区

BATON ROUGE - Thanks to its innovative approach to empowering professional relationships, 海角社区鈥檚 Beta Alpha Psi 鈥� Phi Chapter earned first place in the Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) Best Practices Competition, sponsored by Deloitte.

The competition is open to more than 300 chapters of the international honor organization for financial information students and professionals. More than 30 chapters were selected to move on from regionals to compete in the final round during BAP鈥檚 annual meeting, held July 25-27 in Orlando. This is 海角社区鈥檚 first appearance in the annual contest.

The BAP Phi Chapter was represented in Orlando by Katherine Whatley (BS Accounting 鈥�24 and incoming Master of Accountancy candidate from Shreveport, Louisiana), Hailie Meyer (a senior accounting major from Macomb, Illinois), and Mary Caroline Wilcox (a senior accounting major from Seattle). Preston Gravley (BS Accounting 鈥�24 and an incoming Master of Accountancy candidate from Houston) was part of the group鈥檚 regional competition team.   

Chapters are encouraged to design and execute programs promoting awareness and involvement in projects exemplifying values shared by BAP and Deloitte. In the process, students sharpen professional skills, develop resilience and grow confidence.

鈥淲e faced numerous obstacles and long nights of preparation, but our determination pushed us to excel,鈥� said Hailie Meyer, who serves as the 海角社区 chapter鈥檚 service coordinator. 鈥淚t was a valuable learning experience that taught us the power of perseverance and showed us we could not just finish the race but soar. This is easy to do with such an incredible chapter to showcase."

In its solution, the 海角社区 team focused on a technology-driven networking blueprint. The robust plan has three central components:

路         A dedicated LinkedIn group to catalyze connections and add value for members.

路         A digital directory that facilitates interactions between members and the group鈥檚 top-tier sponsors.

路         A curated, shared calendar informing members of events and engagement opportunities.

The plan has resulted in exponential growth for the chapter and higher satisfaction for sponsoring organizations.

鈥淲inning first place was a proud moment for us; we are honored to elevate the 海角社区 name on an international stage,鈥� said chapter president Katherine Whatley. 鈥淚 hope other chapters will be inspired to revolutionize their operations by implementing some of these tactics that have worked so well for us.鈥�

The BAP Phi Chapter won $2,250 for wins during the regional and final rounds.

鈥淎s faculty advisors, we are proud of the team鈥檚 dedication and hard work. It is incredible to see our students shine and excel in such a distinguished competition,鈥� said advisors and Department of Accounting faculty Tracy Morgan and Zhenhua Chen.

The BAP Phi Chapter serves students majoring in accounting, finance, information systems & decision sciences and information systems & analytics. To learn more about the group, visit .