Principal Tom Lietz is a man of his word.

During an Arrow press conference earlier in the year, Lietz told senior Jacob Joseph that if his DECA duo placed in the top five nationally, Joseph would earn the honor of shaving Lietz’s hair.

On May 21, following notification that Joseph, along with senior Kendall Avis, placed fourth in Student Based Enterprises, Lietz brought his electric clippers up to the newsroom so Joseph could shave his principle’s hair.

“I was really proud of them for doing so well at nationals, and I’m a man of my word” Lietz said. “At the end of the day it was just something fun to do, and If it gave these students a little extra motivation to do better, then I was happy to do it.”

This is the second year in a row that Utica has won top ten out of 200 schools.

“We wanted to place in the top three,” Joseph said, “but it was still great to place fourth in the nation.”

DECA advisor Dana Boice was thrilled to have her students get top ten at nationals.

“You’re a ball of nerves waiting to hear their names,” Boice said, “and when you finally hear them it’s just incredible.”

Nine DECA seniors and one junior along with Avis and Joseph qualified for nationals in Orlando, Florida. Results from this took many anticipating weeks for these students.

“It was a really fun group, and it was the biggest group of kids we’ve had,” Boice said.

DECA is a business based program that gives students some early insight into the business world. There many events to compete in, and placing forth in the nation in one of them is a major accomplishment for Utica’s DECA program. The bar is certainly set for years to come.

“I am happy for all that I have accomplished with DECA,” Joseph said. “Leaving a mark in the school’s history is something that I can hold on to forever.”