The Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preparing high school and college students for future careers in the business world. It focuses on industries such as marketing, finance and hospitality. Members of DECA participate in career-focused programs and activities geared toward leadership development and preparation for their future.
DECA also hosts conferences and competitions for students to attend. Through these events, students have the opportunity to compete in a variety of different categories, involving roleplays and business simulations. On Dec. 20, the school’s members of DECA have their first competition event of the year.
The organization, sponsored by Mr. Cole Eged, was scheduled to have a regional competition located at North Allegheny High School on Dec. 2. Due to the snow day, it was canceled and rescheduled for later in the month. The location was also changed, now being held at North Catholic.
“We have a lot of potential this year,” Eged said. “After looking at last year, I’m excited to see where we go with these competitions.”
During the events, members will choose categories to compete in. They also have the option to do team events, competing in teams of two. Before the competition, they will take a 100-question test, with one hour to complete it. On Saturday morning, they will participate in business role-plays based on a prompt given to them at the regional competition. They have ten minutes to prepare for the roleplay, which they will perform in front of a judge. After they finish competing, they will attend a team lunch. Later that evening, results of the competition will be announced.
Students who qualify in the regional competition will have the opportunity to further compete in states.
Last year, Calla Reynolds (12), Colton Blank (12) and Christopher Denkovich (‘25) were state qualifiers and went to the competition in Hershey. They competed in roleplays first, with 15 minutes to prepare for individuals and 30 minutes to prepare for team categories.
Anyone who competes in states has the opportunity to qualify for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC), which is an annual conference for high school and college students. To qualify, students must place in the top eight during the state competition and then complete another roleplay. Last year, Denkovich won the DECA glass award and moved further to the ICDC conference and tournament in Orlando, Florida, where he won the highest testing and roleplay scores of the high school chapter.
“I’m hoping to make it even further than I did last year,” Colton Blank (12) said. “I think there’s a lot of room for us to go far.”