DECA, one of the most popular clubs at Vandegrift, competed this past week at the  Deca State Career Development Conference (ICDC). The ICDC took place in San Antonio on the 22 thru the 25. Out of the 67 students that competed, 24 will continue to the International level, which will be held Apr. 26 – 29 in Anaheim, California.

     “I loved being able to travel with my DECA team and can’t wait for California,”  junior Cecilia Reis said. “Having my name called at the end of the competition was super exciting, my partner was Karla Trujillo and we competed in the role play category.”

    Out of the 67 students who competed at state, 36 classified as finalists.  As for the 24 students who advanced, 12 competed in the written event and the other 12 were in the role event.

    “As a freshman on DECA my goal was just to advance to finals, I thought that would be a realistic yet still impressive goal knowing I don’t have near as much experience as the older kids,” freshman Avinash Gupta said. “I’m really proud of myself for advancing to the international level and can’t wait to spend time in California with all my friends I have made through DECA.”

    DECA is a program that is business based. A large majority of the students in DECA are in one or more business classes at school.  

    “Being on DECA has been a great learning experience,” sophomore Lane Willard said. “I plan to continue being in DECA throughout my high school years. I have learned many helpful life skills that will not only help me in high school, but college too.”

     The DECA club is rather young compared to the other teams they compete against, yet they have been very successful. The team consists of upper and underclassmen. DECA sponsors Erin Mathis and Candace Nassar said they are extremely proud of their students.

    “We have all put in lots of work but need to continue working hard,” Mathis said. “We hope to have at least three teams on the stage in the top ten in the nation. The underclassmen really pulled their weight and surprised me with how well they performed knowing most of them have never even taken a business class before.”

    The international competition will be held in Anaheim, California on Apr 26-29.

    “Watching the kids names being called and going up on stage when they won was the highlight of my week” Marketing teacher and co-sponsor Ms.Mathis said. “I’m so extremely proud of all kids and their hard work.”