West Chicago Community High School senior Joey Marszalek earned fifth place nationally in Fundamental Accounting at the 2026 Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

Competing against students from more than 25 states and three countries, Marszalek placed among the nation’s top competitors in the event. According to the district, he outperformed 71 other state and international qualifiers to secure a spot on the national awards stage.

Marszalek advanced to nationals after placing fifth in Illinois at the BPA State Leadership Conference, held Feb. 26-28 in Oak Brook.

He was one of five Wildcats to qualify for the national competition following strong performances at the state level. The Economic Research Team of Brian Nguyen, Dirk Ulbrich, Ryan Slattery and Daniel Szacilowski earned first place in Illinois, while Szacilowski also qualified nationally in Device Configuration and Troubleshooting.

The state championship marked a repeat victory for Nguyen, Ulbrich and Slattery, who also won the Economic Research event the previous year.

Under the guidance of business education teacher and BPA adviser Kevin Jarosz, the students represented West Chicago Community High School at both the state and national competitions.

Business Professionals of America is a career and technical student organization for students pursuing careers in business management, finance, information technology and related fields. Through leadership opportunities and competitive events, BPA aims to prepare students for future careers and college experiences.