Three University of Arkansas at Little Rock students took second place at the annual Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) regional meeting in Dallas on Feb. 23.

Senior accounting major James Hubbard from Wabbaseka, junior business major Shibani Lal from Little Rock, and senior accounting major Joseph Griffith from Benton competed in the conference’s “Best Practices” competition, during which they presented about UA Little Rock’s “Reality Fair” financial literacy workshop.

“For the Reality Fair workshop, we let participants choose their career and family goals, and make housing, transportation, communication, entertainment, giving, and saving decisions.” explained Cynthia Johnson, accounting instructor and Beta Alpha Psi faculty co-advisor. “They then spin the ‘wheel of life’ to see what random event, representing real life happens to them. If they are not living within their budget, they must go back and change earlier decisions until they can live within their means. It’s quite an eye-opener!”

Nine students in total attended the conference, hosted jointly in Dallas by UA Little Rock and the University of Central Arkansas. Christina Gu, Jessalyn Jackson, Sean Corrothers, Daniel Nwachuku, Hitaxiben Patel, and Jay Patel, along with the winners of the competition, met with Beta Alpha Psi members from colleges and universities across the region to discuss the latest topics in accounting, finance, and information systems. Gu, Jackson, and Patel also took part in a non-judged discussion with other Beta Alpha Psi chapters where they discussed workforce readiness among their members.

Johnson could not be more proud of how her students fared.

“They all stepped up and were ready and able to do above what was required of them. Their attitude was amazing and they helped give our school a great reputation,” said Johnson. “We hope to take the Reality Fair workshop on the road to area high schools and youth events.”