DECA history was made when sophomores Claire Heiden, Logan Murtha and Kevin Fogarty were the first Marshall team to place first at the International Career Development Conference in the Advertising Campaign event.
The conference took place from April 25 to 29 in Orlando, Florida.
Seniors Kate Bock, Morgan Stahl and Owen Crizer placed in the top ten as a team in the Sports and Entertainment Promotion event, while freshman Noah Daniel also placed in the top ten in the Principles of Business Management event.
Over 18,000 people came to the conference, where 10,000 students competed.
“Being surrounded by 10,000 other students from around the world that are equally as passionate as I am about this program is so thrilling,” Murtha said. “One of my favorite parts of ICDC is asking people where they’re from and networking with them; no matter how far apart we live, we have a lot in common.”
The categories that Heiden, Murtha, Fogarty, Bock, Stahl and Crizer competed in consisted of an 11-page paper, a 15-minute presentation and a 100-question exam, while Daniel’s event consisted of a roleplay exercise and a 100-question exam.
“The competition is always difficult when you’re at an international competition,” Stahl said. “But it was our third year there so we were more comfortable than other teams, which I think helped us out.”
Marshall DECA has consistently performed well at ICDC. Last year the club had five members place top ten in their respective events, and surpassed their own achievements this year with seven members placing in the top ten.
“Winning was validation that every hour of blood, sweat and tears that Claire, Kevin, and I put into this project was worth it,” Murtha said. “Honestly, it doesn’t even feel real; I keep thinking that someone is going to wake me up from a dream.”
Thirty club members qualified for ICDC, and Marshall DECA was awarded with the Blue Chip, which is the highest honor any chapter of Virginia DECA can receive.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve done this year,” said Bock. “It was at the same time a huge relief, but a big surprise, and it just gave me so much pride and joy that it made everything we had done that year, and the past three years, was worth it.”