Our future marketers and salesman have prepared and worked for months to win district competitions and now they have prepared themselves for state competitions. After spending over half of the school week at the Merriott renaissance Hotel, Utica Deca team gave it their all during their roleplays and written events, with 9 out of 32 members making finals, and 2 members qualified for the international competition.
DECA is an international program that prepares students for career paths in marketing, finance, management, and hospitality. The score that guarantees one to qualify for nationals is a combination of a test score, out of 100 points, and an event, performed at the state competitions.
Members who had written events had to write a long 10-page paper and create presentation boards to present a new idea to the judge. One of those written events were seniors Gabe Griffith and Michael Hoppe’s innovation plan.
“Our paper was a big part of the score, so we put a lot of work into it,” Griffith said, “We put a lot of practice into the presentation, memorizing the words, and making sure we are saying the right things.”
Role-players were given a scenario in which they had 10 minutes to construct a solution based on their marketing subject in an interview with a judge. Senior Dreyden Jackson was the only roleplay event to be awarded as a finalist.
“I felt like I did really well and felt very accomplished for making it that far,” Jackson said. “I was definitely nervous going up on stage.”
Utica Deca were offered new events this year, called Project Management Events, which were 20 page, written events. This meant different preparation times and deadlines for members.
“We had kids doing more community awareness events, getting involved with, for example, Korbel health in Beaumont. We had another group doing a mental health awareness tying in with a basketball game,” teacher Dana Boice said. “We had a little more community build along with our already existing competitive events that we already do.”
The team that made it to the national did an event called School Based Enterprise, which was a 25-page paper marketing and selling Utica’s school store, which went directly to nationals for them to get certified. They were nationally recognized in the school store that their paper was rewarded gold certified. Now they’re allowed to take their presentation about
“It was definitely a shock being qualified for nationals,” senior Yvette Orlowski said. “I hoped that other people would make it, but It’ll be fun for me and Nick to go hang out and compete without any distractions.”
The stay at the hotel was very hectic, as many high schools were staying at the same building, so the place was very crowded.
“The hotel was very fancy, one of the fanciest hotels I’ve ever been in,” senior Krew Hartman said. “Once Thursday started rolling around, all the other schools started showing up, then the elevators became super crowded, and even a fight started in the elevator.”
After all the preparation and work put into their performances, the winning finalist, and especially the national qualifiers, gained much recognition and potential for their future in Deca. These members of the Utica Deca team successfully conquered 5 group events, winning Quick Serve Restaurant Entrepreneurship, Travel & Tourism, Integrated Marketing Campaign Service Innovation Plan. They built their self-confidence by networking with business professionals, presenting, competing, and making new memories.
