Freedom Area High School's Student Newspaper

FHS Press

Freedom Area High School's Student Newspaper

FHS Press

Freedom Area High School's Student Newspaper

FHS Press

DECA: DECA Chapter Succeeds at Competition

Freedom’s high hopes of bringing home the gold in this year’s DECA Competition proved successful Dec. 8 when the team competed at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Moon Township. Freedom DECA members competed against teams from North Allegheny, Aliquippa, Beaver County CTC, Riverside, Ambridge and PA Cyber in order to see which group of students is the most business savvy. DECA, the Distributive Education Clubs of America, has existed for over 60 years to provide an opportunity for students interested in business to hone their skills. DECA is very familiar with Freedom, which has participated as a school district in DECA Competitions since the 1960s. In that time, some Freedom students qualified to compete in the state and even national competitions. President of the Freedom DECA team, Emily Majors, moved on to nationals just last year. Mrs. Beth Majors, the advisor for the team, said that every few years a student comes along that makes it to the state or national competition. This year, however, the entire team placed in their most recent competition. Senior Nikki Wallis placed first in the Automotive Services category. Sophomore Jen Wallis also placed first in the Apparel and Accessories Marketing category. The following students also placed: Mason Fischer and Tippin Harkins in Hospitality Management Team event, Stacey Wallis in Business Finance, Emily Majors in Business Services Marketing and Zack Milliron in Sports and Entertainment Marketing. To make it to states, each participant had to complete a series of tasks that express their skills in marketing, finance or management. These tasks include a written test, various presentations and plenty of improvised problem solving. Throughout this process, each student was closely scrutinized by judges. “The judges are professionals,” Mrs. Majors said. All judges are businessmen and women with a wealth of experience ready to pass on. This can present a different set of challenges. After each competitor gave a 10 minute presentation on his or her solution to their given problem, another 5 minutes is used to answer questions posed by the judge. In this time “[the judges] really stump you,” Mrs. Majors said. Not only did these judges evaluate each student’s ideas, but also looked for proper business etiquette and speaking skills, which includes professional dress. With such a high level of difficulty, it may seem strange to have 10 students participating this year. “There’s a lot I learned from doing DECA that I would not have [learned] anywhere else,” Junior Stacey Wallis said. Every test designed by DECA is made specifically to mimic real life situations. “I think it’s a great opportunity for all students,” Mrs. Majors said. “[DECA builds] confidence in interacting with adults.” Any new member that wishes to join would be welcomed by the veterans competing today. One student even encouraged other students to join. “I would recommend it, especially if you like business,” Junior Tippin Harkins said.