DECA brings home gold at state leadership conference

Ashley McGrath, Managing Editor|March 13, 2020

courtesy of Jade Bolling
SENIOR DECA COMPETITORS Tristan Richardson (left), Robby Ruhl and Steven Gershen will advance to the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Nashville, TN. These students will head south for more competition in April.

Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA)  is an organization that is focused on preparing students for careers in various business and marketing fields and offers them opportunities to grow their interest in the industry.

Recently, the school’s DECA organization sponsored the State Leadership Conference (SLC) at the Virginia Beach Convention Center where high school competitors from around the state who had previously placed at the District Leadership Conference in December were able to compete individually in various categories that included: Principles of Finance, Human Resources Marketing Series and Principles of Marketing.

During the competition, students were  tasked with completing an exam in a designated business oriented category.  After the initial exam, students were then asked to participate in 1-2 role play scenarios, which further tested their knowledge in problem-solving and marketing solutions; other DECA members were given the opportunity to work in pairs and compete in team decision making categories such as Sports and Entertainment Marketing and Hospitality Services.

“It was such an amazing experience to see so many dedicated students working towards their goals. There were thousands of competitors but our students did an amazing job and I am so proud of them,” DECA Advisor Mrs. Bolling said.

After an intense weekend of competition, three Falcons qualified for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Nashville, TN, scheduled to take place in April. The ICDC will allow students to continue to expand their skills in the field of business.

Senior Steven Gershen qualified in the Business Services Management Series category, while seniors Tristan Richardson and Robert Ruhl qualified in Hospitality Services Team Decision Making. 

“Competing at SLC is a tremendous experience that every student at CHS should try and take advantage of,” DECA president and SLC finalist Steven Gershen said. “There are thousands of participants from around the state and we want Cox to be more represented.”