DECA students return from competition in Atlanta

Seven Cascade High School DECA students and their advisor, Todd Pehowski, returned tired but satisfied from a six-day event in Atlanta, Georgia on April 25. In the previous article, it was misstated that they were attending a national business leadership competition, when, in fact it was the DECA International Career Development Conference (DECA ICDC), with students hailing from the 50 states and also Canada, Spain, Germany and Honduras, among others.
The excitement of DECA ICDC began with a bang. Twenty-thousand students assembled in the glitzy new Mercedes Benz Stadium. They watched a version of an Olympic parade of nations as each chartered organization had a delegate march with a flag to boisterous cheering. The keynote speaker, a top designer from Men’s Wearhouse, encouraged them to make the most of the conference.
The following day, the only time when the sun would peek out of the clouds, the students visited Six Flags Over Georgia. Ryan Everest said, “Those long lines for the rides went by fast with Mr. P. telling jokes.” “We practiced scenarios in line too,” said Rylee Jacobson, “like what it would take to market a real Jurassic Park.”
Preliminary tests occurred the next day, with competition in full swing by the 22nd. None of the CHS students made it to the finals in their competition categories. Competition was certainly stiff (about 180 competitors in each category with 20 finalists), and there’s a bit of luck involved too. The first round of judging occurs in heats, so if you find yourself in a tough heat, you have less chance of advancing to the finals. “I look forward to receiving my scores to see how close I got,” D’Andre Vasquez said. The scores will be sent out soon, giving the students a chance to see where they excelled and where they have room to improve.
Although competition drives the energy of the conference, these students took away a lot more. They networked with students from other parts of the country. “I even met someone from Minnesota who had vacationed in Seattle and visited the nearby small Bavarian-style village,” said Jacobson.
Through conversations with other chapters, there are chances to think about how this young chapter can grow and change in the future. Everest said, “We talked about student based enterprises and could see, for instance, how others used specials certain times of the week to help increase sales in the student store.” Ideas for events could be shared too, like how their Father/Daughter Dance was a concept that Mr. P. heard about from another school in Washington.
Anna Russell and Jose Valdez, who didn’t compete but attended the Leadership Academy, were chosen because, as Vasquez said, “We saw a lot of potential in them, and we are investing in the future of our DECA chapter.”
The students felt gratitude for all the sources of funding they received, including sponsorship through the Career and Technical Education (CTE) department. “Members from other chapters paid a lot more than we did to attend DECA ICDC,” said Jacobson.
The conference is past now, but DECA will continue to be present in these students’ lives. “We will talk to the eighth graders soon,” Everest said. They want to explain the opportunities of DECA to these upcoming freshman to help recruit more members. In addition, Vasquez looks forward to speaking in front of an audience of business leaders at a state organized fundraising luncheon. “I hope to tell our school’s story and articulate what DECA can do for students.”