DECA members sophomore Morgan Simmons and senior Shane Brykailo brought home two wins at the district DECA competition in Burlington Dec. 2. Northwood took about 40 students to the competition, 15 placing the top ten in both role plays and test scores.
“DECA is a marketing club where you can go and compete in role plays, take tests and try to place and win,” said sophomore Bayan Dadressan, a first year DECA member. “There are different categories of how you can compete and different sections of things all related to marketing.”
The students had to take a 100 question test prior to the competition that was averaged into their event scores. When they arrived, they were given one of four scenarios and had 10 minutes to plan out a response followed by 10 minutes to present to a judge. For example, Simmons took her test prior to attending and got a 79. On the day of the competition, she was taken into a separate room and given a prompt: ‘Should this company add rugby to their list of sports?’ After that, she was then taken into another room to present her role play to a judge on why she thought rugby should be added to that company’s list of sports.
Simmons placed third in Sports and Entertainment. This was her first time competing in a DECA event.
“This club means a lot to me because I have become very successful in DECA,” Simmons said. “In my own life, I’ve seen an improvement in my speaking skills and the way I present myself and ideas to others. They called my name multiple times; every time I tried to go back to my seat, I couldn’t get there because they kept calling me again and again. It felt like it wasn’t real life. I was really proud of myself; DECA is something I could take a long way.”
DECA is one of the only international organizations at Northwood. Members compete against people from all around the U.S. as well as Canada, China, Guam and Germany. Members have the opportunity to network and use hands on management skills that students can’t learn in the classroom.
“I think DECA provides students a chance to take ownership of their own opportunities,” said Ashley Clark, Northwood’s DECA advisor. “I tell them all the time that they have to want it; I will do anything to help them out as long as they put in the work. I think that a lot of them have seen other students succeed in DECA, and that makes them [motivated to do just as well]. The feeling is just so hard to describe because I’m just so proud and excited for them, and to see them have that confidence, like ‘Wow, I can actually do it,’ it’s just really cool.”
Students say that DECA teaches them real world applications that involve marketing as well as people skills.
“Everyone is going to have to go through interviews and be able to talk people throughout their life,” DECA co-president junior Hannah Cook said. “This includes college interviews and job interviews, anything you’re going to have to have personal skills in. DECA really helps with all of these skills, and I’ve seen myself grow and excel majorly during this club.”
DECA’s ultimate goal is to attend the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in the spring. To be able to qualify for Nationals, the students must place at least tenth in states and in the top five in their category to secure their spot. Nationals will be held in Nashville, Tenn. during the spring of 2016.
– By Michaela Youngs