UNO CBA’s Beta Alpha Psi Recognized as 2021’s Superior Chapter

UNO CBA is home to a 2021 Superior Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP), an organization for students concentrating in Accounting or Finance. For a year and a half, Gamma Kappa – UNO’s chapter of BAP – has utilized virtual platforms to collaborate, make a difference, and keep the emphasis on the students.

Thanks to the dedicated leadership of the organization’s student officers, as well as chapter leader Dr. Xiaoyan Cheng, BAP successfully hosted the virtual Beta Alpha Psi Missouri Valley Regional Meeting, Meet the Firms, an initiation ceremony, an alumni event, and a social event within the past year, overcoming the challenges of distance to keep the organization going strong. Ultimately, the chapter’s ability to communicate and stay true to their mission despite hardships brought on by COVID-19 earned them the Superior title. This is the 12^th consecutive year the Gamma Kappa chapter has received the award.

A major commitment of BAP members is to mandatory service projects. While this effort also looked a little different in 2021, Gamma Kappa provided 497 hours of community service in the last year. These activities included promoting the accounting career expo, tutoring accounting students, and writing letters/cards to veterans and nursing homes. BAP was not only recognized as a Superior chapter for these efforts, but also earned additional recognition for partnering with a local middle school to collect school supplies for students in need.

Elizabeth Howard, UNO’s chapter representative, also led BAP to success in the virtual Project Run With It (PRWI) competition this summer. PRWI challenges students with a real-world consulting project for a nonprofit. Howard’s team was selected as the winning group, earning the Gamma Kappa chapter a $1,000 award.

“My PRWI team met virtually this summer and was responsible for ideating and presenting solutions to how raise money for the nonprofit, The Volunteer Center, in the northern Chicago area. Our team connected online on multiple occasions to meet one another, to come up with ideas of how to raise funds, and finally, to record our presentations,” said Howard. “The PRWI event, even though it was virtual this year, offered me the opportunity to meet and work together with other BAP students from different locations in the USA and to help out a worthy nonprofit organization.”

Reflecting on the challenges of the past year and a half, Howard recalls the importance of BAP’s weekly meetings, which continued via Teams, WebEx, or Zoom. This allowed BAP to host virtual accounting seminars, preparing CBA students for the job market and connecting them with employers. These meetings also played a pivotal role in the planning and execution of BAP’s required service hours to the community.

“Volunteering is always good for the community, but it also helps BAP members to build a sense of community and social responsibility, as well as it provides a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction,” said Howard.

While so much was different about the past year, UNO’s BAP chapter showed the great things that can be achieved through collaboration and an emphasis on community. Well done, Gamma Kappa!