Written by: Cascade Media Group Intern Ayanna Fields
Imagine waking up and opening your curtains to a view where the sun’s rays are subtly shimmering off of a lake’s surface, images of homes and hotels reflect upon that same lake while wilderness acts as a backdrop. Once this picture penetrates your mind come to realize that you are not there for a vacation but it is a dewy March morning and you are surrounded by such serenity on a three day business trip for Missouri’s State DECA competition.
For those who are a bit fuzzy on what exactly DECA is let me explain. DECA is an acronym for Distributive Education Clubs of America whose goal is to prepare high school and college students for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. The organization was founded in 1946 and as of today DECA expands beyond America but to all corners of the world and proudly defines itself as international. Now that we are on the same page, back to the competition!
The picture you envisioned, I actually experienced. March 16th though the 18th myself and thirteen other classmates hopped on a bus Sunday morning, a snack break and three hours later we entered into the Missouri State DECA territory which was quite the environment. Visualize the Four Seasons resort jam-packed with thousands upon thousands high school students with a couple of advisers struggling to maintain some sort of organization; oh yes, this was just the beginning. As we all filed in district by district into little conference rooms to receive directions along with a room key we find out there is an advisers meeting and lucky for us we need to make ourselves at home in the crunched conference room for an hour and a half.
Seemingly a lifetime later we finally got the ball rolling, everyone received room keys, t-shirts and schedules which stated prompt times our presence was required. The first night consisted of a tasty buffet dinner and a huge opening session with Eddie Slowlkowski as the keynote speaker. Slowlkowski’s message of finding what truly makes you happy then using this source of happiness as motivation throughout life put what we should define as success into perspective. Essentially what makes us happy and pursuing it, is what truly matters.
The next two days were as you imagine bursting at the seams with tasks, activities and competitive events. Monday was the big day, the whole reason why we were all there. This was the day every single student had to compete in the event they’ve worked so hard to perfect. In order to keep the chaos as structured as possible every student has a specific location and time to report there. After all presentations have taken place judges calculate everyone’s scores and decide who qualifies to go on to Nationals. From the group of classmates I attended the competition with, four of them accomplished a big feat and qualified to advance on to DECA Nationals which this year is held in Atlanta Georgia for high school students where approximately sixteen thousand students from across the world will unify to once again repeat the process.
DECA isn’t just about bringing high school students together and providing them a small vacation at an entertaining location. DECA is about bringing together the world’s next leaders and teaching them how to embody their true business identities; this consist of educating students in understanding business lingo, preparing finances, presenting themselves professionally and being able to compete against well prepared individuals whom like themselves are striving for a top stop in a world that is filled with countless possibilities.
