James Ross

CTE 430

Dr. Carol Billing

28 October 2021

Interview With a CTSO Advisor

There is a lot more to teaching than what happens in the classroom between the bells. As

an educator, there are some of us that will have the responsibility and pleasure of being an

advisor for Career and Technical Student Organizations, or CTSOs. I recently had the pleasure

of speaking with Mrs. Julie Hill from Mountain View High School about her experiences with

being a CTSO advisor with Business Professionals of America, or BPA. I found the conversation

to be highly enjoyable, as she described her personal experience with the organization in detail

and before I knew it, we had spent the last half hour discussing questions that I didn’t even know

I had.

For starters, I was surprised to learn that Hill had not started her journey in teaching until

she was 41 years old. I found this detail reassuring as I am a 34-year-old father of four working

fulltime and currently still on my path of becoming an educator. I originally wanted to speak

with a CTSO advisor for Distributive Education Clubs of America or DECA, but Hill revealed

that the district determines CTSOs and West Ada had many more BPA chapters than DECA.

Coincidentally, prior to being a CTSO advisor for BPA, Hill was an advisor for DECA and was

able to offer me more insight with her experiences in both organizations.

There were several in-depth key aspects of my interview that I found interesting. I started

by asking her what led her to becoming a CTSO advisor and in a matter-of-fact manner, she

stated that it was to earn clout and make herself valuable. Being an advisor for a student
organization builds rapport. I commended her for such an accomplishment and asked her how

much time she spends dedicating to her CTSO. Hill attends two meeting per month and maybe

five hours per week, pre-pandemic. She mentioned that she also dedicated $45 in monthly fees to

do CTSO.

I followed up with asking about any success stories that she could personally recall from

student participations in CTSOs. She said that by far, she enjoys learning that students continue

to do CTSOs in their academic careers. Which tells me that they enjoy participating and benefit

from what the organization has to offer. Another success story that she was proud to share was

that she had one former student that continued in DECA at the collegiate level win two years in a

row among 75 other students from across the nation. What an exciting accomplishment! She also

added that competition within is a real-world application that could be stressed further in

competition preparation.

Continuing with questions, I wanted her opinion on the most beneficial reasons for

students to become a member. Hill revealed that it gives students something to look forward to

and helps them to build peer companionships. The intrinsic rewards that come from being a

CTSO advisor are important to her. I ended our conversation by asking her what she enjoyed

most about being a CTSO advisor. She was happy to report that the state awards ceremony is her

favorite part. She continued to state that it is easy to forget how fun it is. Hill also indicated that

she enjoys donating anonymously to help students financially. I could tell that she truly enjoys

being a BPA advisor.

In conclusion, I was fascinated by the level of passion Mrs. Hill holds to this special

position. I admire her dedication, not only to her role, but to her students. I could tell that she

prides herself in seeing them succeed. One aspect that I might do differently is that when I asked
her how she handles the program of activities, or POA, she told me that they do not focus on that

and only must attend the meetings. I think having a POA handy would be beneficial to students

and their parents. Overall, I was happy with the insight this interview had to offer and feel that I

have a better understanding of the role of a CTSO advisor.