DECA has taken steps to motivate students with interests in business to get involved by recently sending leaders to Washington, D.C. to participate in a leadership conference.

DECA, Distributive Education Clubs of America, gives realistic opportunities for students who are passionate about subjects like marketing, sales, and economics or who want to expand their boundaries and see what the club can offer them. DECA has been known for the district, state, and international levels of competition. Members have also been creating role playing scenarios for interviews and weekly meetings, which provide practice for members.

“This year we are really focused on making DECA a year round club not just a club that meets right near district and state competitions,” business research member senior Baylee Burns said.

DECA members attended a leadership conference in Washington, D.C. where they were involved in several workshops for team building and presentation skills.  They also learned common skills necessary for success including public speaking from guest speaker Josh Sundquist, a Paralympian and motivational speaker.

“The conference covered a wide variety of topics from college-preparation to how to excel at DECA events,” conference participant senior Nathan Ding said.

The club’s goal is to help students reach out to colleges and give them opportunities to experience realistic business interactions.

The DECA club officers hope to have more contenders at the international level. The leaders hope to take the skills they learned in Washington and teach other members the same tactics and strategies for the competition.

“Having a larger number of Algonquin students competing at the highest level would be a great accomplishment, and would speak to the success of the higher level of involvement that we are seeking to achieve,” student leader senior Paul Nardone said.

DECA is also involved in classes such as Business Research where teams of students create a fundraising or community service program that they use as a project for the state level of competition.

Current projects include 5K for the Kids which helps Boys and Girls clubs, community service to teach empathy to elementary students, and the popular T-Hawk Nation.

“We felt like the spirit in Algonquin was down, so our plan is to promote the school in and out of the community,” co-creator of T-Hawk Nation senior Tyler Hatton said.

These projects are displayed in state competitions, which give students opportunities to participate in seminars that teach sales and marketing techniques to use in real world situations.

“Some students that graduate from Algonquin and plan to major in business haven’t even competed in DECA,” Burns said. “In my opinion DECA is one of the best things someone who aspires to major in business can be apart of because it prepares you so well for real life business situations.”

For further information about DECA and the opportunities it gives, see business teacher and chapter advisor, Patricia Riley, or the student representatives, seniors Julia Duffy, Joe Egizi, Sammi Falkowski, and Paul Nardone.