Schools
Oak Forest HS DECA has Two National Qualifiers
Peyton Nielson and Justin Meline qualified for National competition with their Sports and Entertainment Marketing Promo Plan
Oak Forest High School Juniors Peyton Nielson and Justin Meline display their 3rd Place trophy that qualified them during the DECA State Competition for the National Competition in Atlanta, Georgia. Nielson and Meline were part of 1,500 DECA students gathered in Rosemont to compete at the annual state competition. Mr. Don Varanauski, Illinois DECA Executive Director said, “All the work you students have put in, the blood, the sweat, the tears, proves that you are ultimately… limitless.”
Oak Forest High School DECA Sponsor Katie Gomez brought 24 students to the state competition. While in Rosemont, students competed in role-play situations, defended and presented written papers and assessed their knowledge with competency exams. The result of this hard work is that the DECA students came home with two National Qualifiers and nine State Medalists. The National Qualifiers will go on to compete at the National Competition April 21-25 in Atlanta, Georgia.
DECA is an organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. The Competitive Activities and Awards program within the Illinois Association of DECA provides members in the marketing, management and entrepreneurship curriculum an opportunity to demonstrate outstanding individual and/or team achievement and be recognized for their work.
OFHS DECA’s National Qualifier team is Justin Meline and Peyton Nielsen, who qualified with their 3rd Place Sports and Entertainment Marketing Promo Plan.
Additional OFHS students who were hand-picked to attend the National Leadership Conference in Atlanta based on their dedication to IL DECA are: Yosra Abdulwahid, Ben Howe, Emma Kleber, and Margi Patel.
Other State award winners were: Skylar Berent and Marie Denis who won 4th Place in the Learn and Earn; Emma Kleber and Jeremy Griffin who won 5th Place in the Learn and Earn; Ben Howe and James McGlothlin won 9th Place in the Sports and Entertainment Promo Plan; and Bashir Lawal won 10th Place in the Franchising Business Plan.
