DECA is a competitive club created to prepare students for business-like careers. The whole point is to solve real-world problems in a presentation-like scenario. By doing DECA, it teaches students several valuable life skills. You can become familiar with a business professional vocabulary as well as the best ways to pitch an idea you have. Internationals is a six-day trip consisting of fun events as well as competition against other states’ and countries’ DECA chapters. This year’s event was in Orlando, Florida.
The whole DECA chapter is run by Mrs. Meyer, who has been advising for several years and making many national appearances, as well as Mr. Taylor, who brings a new spin on Woodhaven DECA.
While competing in DECA, there are two different styles to compete in. There is an individual and partner style event called roleplay. You’re given a paper with a business problem and what they want you to fix. Your and your partner’s objective is to find the best possible way to solve the problem. You are given a designated amount of time to prepare your pitch, and you will then go speak to judges who will score you on your performance and ideas.
Another style of competition is a project pitch. You and another person or a group of up to three will create a realistic project. Many actually go through with the projects they create, or their project may be something to solve a real-world problem. When competing for this, you’re given months to create anywhere from a 10-page to a 100-page paper thoroughly describing your project and then pitching your ideas. When finished, students condense their project into poster boards.
Upon competing well enough, you may qualify to enter the international competition. This year’s internationals were held in Orlando, Florida. People from every state in the country, as well as many people from other countries, come to pitch their ideas and compete at the highest level. DECA nationals can reach up to 23,000 people per year from all around the world to compete in the best business organization high school can offer.
Although DECA is a business group, the whole trip isn’t strictly business. Students are able to stay in some of the best hotels in the area, as well as have a fun itinerary. Students are able to go to Universal, which was rented out for the whole night by DECA. They also go to several beaches as well as sightseeing when not competing. Students were lucky enough to spend 2 days at Universal Studios. When talking about Universal Studios DECA member Liam Warner said, “My favorite ride was called the Dudley Doo, and it truly embodied the whole park. While I was there, they had the first ever Whopper Bar and I had a lot of fun.”
All around, everyone who attends DECA internationals speaks very highly of it and it’s an experience they’re happy they got to be a part of, along with the skills they learn along the way..
