Partners in Patriotism Fund Supports Foxborough HS DECA Trip to Nashville

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The first-year success of Foxborough High School’s DECA chapter, a business-oriented student organization, continued to reach impressive feats with five students participating in the DECA International Career Development Conference held in Nashville, Tenn. over April vacation.

The Partners in Patriotism Fund supported the students’ participation in the leadership and career development conference by awarding the DECA chapter with a $7,000 grant to cover the cost of the trip.

“On behalf of all the students, I want to personally thank the Partners in Patriotism Fund and the Kraft family for providing us with the generous donation of $7,000,” said FHS business teacher and DECA advisor, Jon McCabe. “The experience and opportunity to attend this conference was truly amazing and I'm sure it will remain with the students and myself for a lifetime.”

“Without the Kraft family’s contribution, all five of us (students) might not have been able to afford this once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Mackenzie Anderson, FHS DECA Chapter President and Founder. “I will be forever grateful to the Partners in Patriotism Fund for granting us the ability to go to Nashville for the ICDC (International Career Development Conference). It is a trip I will never forget.”

The international conference, held April 22-26, brought 18,000 DECA students from around the country together to compete, learn and network in the world of business. Foxborough was represented by Anderson, Tasneem Bootwala, Christopher Cunniff, Courtney Seeley and Matt Weiss. While the students are still awaiting the results from the competition, Bootwala earned a medal for recording one of the highest scores in the written test portion of the competition.

“It was very exciting to know that on a playing field with kids from all over the world that I can compete on that level and do well,” said Bootwala, who competed in the Principles of Business Management and Administration category.

“I think the best thing about that category is the role play is usually an interview situation, so it’s a situation that you’re going to face in the real world eventually,” Bootwala said. “Competing at something like internationals means that you can do this and that you can succeed at this level and even in the real world. It gives you confidence, which is what I really value about DECA.”

For Cunniff and Weiss, the international conference was a great opportunity to network and learn from business leaders.

“I thought the international conference was a really great experience to meet new people,” Cunniff said. “Matt [Weiss] and I were in the leadership conference with other high school seniors and talked a lot about financial aid, paying for college and saving money. I thought it provided a lot of great information that will be helpful in the future.”

“The leadership conference brought in about 50 CEOs and business leaders for us to talk to,” added Weiss. “They all gave us great advice about networking and succeeding in business.”

Seeley and Anderson, competed together in the Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making at the international level.

“We had a really good time,” Seeley said. “It was incredible to be competing against 200 other teams that were qualified to be there.”

Anderson agreed.

“The best part of the ICDC was being able to compete with business students from around the world at the highest level possible,” Anderson said. “The most beneficial part of the trip was getting to network with other students and even with successful businessmen and women.”

Even McCabe participated in the conference, attending an advisors training academy.

“The conference provided me with so many valuable resources to expand and support our DECA chapter in Foxborough,” said McCabe. “I learned so much.”

McCabe called the first year of advising DECA an “amazing experience” and beamed with pride for the students participating in the chapter.

“I am so proud of these students, especially this year because they really had to take on a lot on their own,” McCabe said. “We didn’t really know much about the program. I didn’t really have a chance to prep them very well because it was so new to us, but they really took a lot of initiative and it was really great to see.”

Anderson added the first year of DECA in Foxborough has helped her and other students find a passion for business.

“When I first began the DECA chapter in Foxborough, I never knew that so many kids were interested in the business field,” Anderson said. “My hope was to have 11 kids join DECA, which was the minimum to form a chapter. When over 60 kids showed up at our first meeting, I was absolutely floored! Over the first year, students have told me that DECA has helped lead them toward pursuing business careers, which is incredible.”

DECA is an educational student organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management through a series of competitive events and leadership conferences.

“DECA helps students establish skills that they will need in the business setting, but can be applied to almost any field,” McCabe said. “This chapter helps students develop more confidence.”

Bootwala agreed, citing confidence building as a major benefit of the chapter.

“I feel like DECA is a great organization that helps you with your personal growth,” she said. “I feel like there are a lot of things that you learn about yourself and you gain confidence.”

Seeley found value in the chapter preparing students for real-life situations.

“DECA prepares you for the business world and you learn how to dress professionally, how to act around people and how to interview,” she said. “It’s a great resource to learn how to apply your skills and knowledge to the real world.”

For Anderson, DECA also taught her how to dress professionally, interview properly and give a formal business presentation. It has also shown her that she is not alone in her interest in business.

“DECA has shown me a new group to which I am proud to call myself a part of,” Anderson said. “It has shown me that I am going to have to work my butt off to accomplish my business world dreams because there are so many talented students that share my interests. It has also shown me that I can accomplish my dreams.”

DECA’s success in its first year in Foxborough has McCabe anticipating an increase in participation next fall.

“There are schools that didn’t make it to states and didn’t make it to internationals, McCabe said. “For Foxborough to get there and have a student on stage in our first year is incredible and has gotten the student body excited about the chapter. I’m expecting a huge influx next year.”

Anderson, a FHS senior, hopes McCabe is right and that DECA continues to grow.

“Most people don’t realize how incredibly amazing this chapter is and just how popular it is,” Anderson said. “The fact that 18,000 kids were at ICDC shows just that. I hope that our future presentations to the eighth grade and the underclassmen can help display everything I love about DECA and why all students considering a business career should join DECA.”

ROAD TO INTERNATIONALS
To get to Nashville, Tenn., the FHS DECA chapter competed at its first-ever district competition in January, earning seven awards, including three for first place. The following students earned awards:

· Bailey Sullivan and Caitlin Brightman (first place in Fashion Merchandising Promotional Plan)

· Ravmyr Fede (first place in Retail Merchandising Series)

· Tasneem Bootwala (first place in Principles of Business Management and Administration)

· Mackenzie Anderson and Courtney Seeley (second place in Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making)

· Zahra Bootwala (second place in Principles of Finance)

· Tim Luciano (third place in Principles of Marketing)

· Andre Jaberi (third place in Business Finance Series)

The team followed up its success at the district level with an impressive showing at the Mass DECA Career Development Conference held in Boston in March.

At the state competition, Tasneem Bootwala finished fifth overall in Principles of Business Management and Administration, placing first in Test Score and Role Play. Seeley and Anderson placed sixth overall in Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making, earning third in Role Play. Fede placed sixth overall in Retail Merchandising and second in Role Play. Brightman and Sullivan placed first in Test Score in Fashion Merchandising Promotional Plan.

Anderson established the FHS DECA chapter in March of 2014.