Health & Fitness
Thirteen CHS Students Compete at DECA Conference in Atlanta
Thirteen CHS students were a part of the 17,000 high school students competing in business, marketing, finance and leadership events. The students earned their way to Atlanta after successfully competing at both local and statewide competitions.
Chelmsford High School students represented Massachusetts DECA at the 2014 International Career Development Conference held in early Atlanta, Georgia in early May. Thirteen CHS students were a part of the 17,000 high school students competing in business, marketing, finance and leadership events. The students earned their way to Atlanta after successfully competing at both local and statewide competitions. The opening session of the conference, held in the Georgia Dome, featured a keynote speech from Fran Tarkenton. The former NFL star is also a serial entrepreneur who has opened over thirty businesses in his lifetime.
Joey Penn, a junior at Chelmsford High, advanced into the finals of the Hotel and Lodging Management category. Joey finished first in his flight and was awarded a medallion for scoring highest on the written exam. The team of Eddie Luo and Omkar Bhat received recognition for their consistently strong performances in both the written tests and oral presentations in the area of Financial Services Team Decision Making. Also representing CHS were Katrina Rega in Food Marketing, Zach Davidson and Kelly Bungard in Human Resource Management, Miranda O’Connor in Apparel and Accessories Marketing, Joanna Heineman in Quick Serve Restaurant Management, Aleric Heck in Business Service Management, Adithya Raajkumar in Business Finance and Jimil Patel in the category Principles of Business Management and Administration. Melissa Roy and Jesse Foley also attended the conference and participated in the Senior Management Institute and Leadership Development Academy. The students were accompanied by their advisors Andy Shupe and Tom Sousa.
In addition to the competition, the students enjoyed Atlanta attractions such as the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coke Museum and an Atlanta Braves game. The Chelmsford contingent also sampled southern hospitality when the chapter had dinner at the Sweet Georgia Juke Joint and featuring authentic southern cooking as well as music and dancing. The students also attended a private concert by country music stars Easton Corbin and Brett Eldredge, put on just for DECA members. Six of the Chelmsford students are underclassmen and hope to earn a return trip to next year’s ICDC which will be held in Orlando, Florida.
