In a historic result for Marshall DECA, 53 students qualified for the April international competition in Anaheim, Calif. at the State Leadership Conference (SLC) competition in Virginia Beach. The DECA chapter also garnered Blue Chip status, the highest state honor.
According to junior Conor Boyle, SLC is home to state-level DECA competition, and competitors who placed high enough at states qualified for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC).
“It was very interesting competing with people from around the state,” sophomore Sean Hoffman said.
The students, either in small teams or individually, competed in different marketing and business challenges both in writing (scored exams on their topics and manuals that cover problems in the different divisions) and in presentations or role-plays which were either explanatory or problem-solving in nature.
“DECA competed in a variety of different categories, and performed really well,” Boyle said. “Fifty-three students qualified for ICDC, which is around 70 percent of the total number of students that we brought to states.”
Marshall DECA placed in 29 of the total 33 categories in which they entered.
“Both of those stats are absurdly high, and we’re incredibly impressed with the successes of so many Marshall DECA members,” Boyle said.
As for planning new events, the students are mainly focused on one thing: the Anaheim competition.
“A lot of teams are revamping their manuals, practicing presentations and fixing their boards just because there’s a lot more competition at ICDC,” sophomore Amelia Crabtree said.