West Bloomfield High School DECA Chapter Earns Highest Honors at DECA International Career Development Conference

West Bloomfield Township, MI – April 25-30, 2017. A record number of 34 Students from the West Bloomfield High School (WBHS) DECA chapter traveled to Anaheim, California to attend the 71st annual DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC). Every year, DECA students from all over the world gather at the ICDC to compete in different business competitions. Students who attend ICDC are viewed as the “best of the best” in their category. This conference is the final competition for the school year.

This year’s conference brought over 19,000 top high school student performers and advisors from all 50 states, U. S. Territories, and nine foreign countries to compete in 36 different events. Students prepare year-round for events that include concentrations in hospitality, law, marketing or finance.

On Tuesday, WBHS DECA members arrived in Anaheim at the Embassy Suites hotel. The following day (Wednesday), students had the opportunity to explore parts of the Los Angeles area, including Hollywood, The Grove (Shopping Center) and Huntington Beach. Later that day the conference started with the Grand Opening Ceremony that featured a fashion show by FIDM students, performance by Billy Gilman, keynote address by Monique Morrow and concluded with a concert by Echosmith.

On Thursday morning students gathered into their respective categories for a competition briefing. At this briefing, each competitor was issued a presentation time slot. Following the briefing, students had time to practice their presentations or simulations before heading to Disneyland that evening.

Students competed on Friday and had time to enjoy the sights of Anaheim. Friday night concluded with a WBHS DECA chapter dinner at Oggi’s Pizza in Garden Grove, CA.

The conference concluded with a grand awards ceremony on Saturday night where students were recognized for outstanding performance in online testing, written research reports, oral presentations and virtual business online simulation.
We are very proud to acknowledge the ICDC qualifiers and winners (listed below) and their categories during this conference.

Qualified participants:
Max Barash, (9), Sports and Entertainment Operations Research
Nolan Beaty, (10), Business Growth Plan
Hafsa Bilal (12), Franchise Business Plan
Brian Bembas, (11), Creative Marketing Project and Virtual Business Challenge Sports
Sydney Bruce, (11), Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research
Jack Budde, (11), Sports and Entertainment Operations Research
Josh Carlin, (11), Virtual Business Challenge Sports
Jake Cohen, (11), Virtual Business Challenge Sports
Josh Cooper, (12), Public Relations Project
Brandon Crawford, (12), Public Relations Project
Zachary Crawford, (10), Public Relations Project
Krish Deodhar, (10), Public Relations Project
Vietress Feller, (11), Virtual Business Challenge Hotel
Lauren Gagnon, (11), Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research
Maria Kakos, (11), Virtual Business Challenge Hotel
Brady Kay, (12), Sports and Entertainment Operations Research
Nathan Kinner, (12), Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research and Virtual Business Challenge Hotel
Matthew Ladouceur, (11), Creative Marketing Project and Virtual Business Challenge Sports
David Martin, (9), Sports and Entertainment Operations Research
Marcus Mclaughlin, (11), Creative Marketing Project
Rei Mizuno, (11), Finance Operations Research Event and Virtual Business Challenge Hotel
Brianna Morigney, (12), Franchise Business Plan
Oghenekevwe Okagvare (12), Virtual Business Challenge Hotel and Virtual Business Challenge Retail
Amyl Patterson, (12), Start-up Business Plan
Collin Pintamo, (11), Finance Operations Research Event
Daniel Pore, (12), Virtual Business Challenge Retail
Sam Rudin, (9), Sports and Entertainment Marketing Operations Research
Jack Rudin, (12), Sports and Entertainment Marketing Operations Research
Nick Seidel, (11), Virtual Business Challenge Sports
Kenneth Tobin, (12), Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research, Virtual Business Challenge Retail and Virtual Business Challenge Hotel
Alex Weiss, (12), Independent Business Plan
Lauren Zimmerman, (12), Public Relations Project
Kayla Zrepskey, (11), Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research
Kasper Zemajitis, (11), Virtual Business Challenge Sports

International Winners:

Julie Zalla (WBHS advisor), Nicholas Seidel (11),Matthew Ladouceur (11), Brian Bembas (11), – 1st Place – Virtual Business Challenge Sports

Julie Zalla (WBHS advisor), Brandon Crawford (12), Lauren Zimmerman (12), Zachary Crawford (10) – 1st Place – Public Relations Project

Vietress Feller (11), Julie Zalla (WBHS advisor), Maria Kakos (11), Rei Mizuno (11) – 3rd Place – Virtual Business Challenge Hotel

Oghenekevwe Okagvare (12), Daniel Pore, (12) – 10th Place – Virtual Business Retail

Krish Deodhar (12), Josh Cooper (12) – Top 10 – Public Relations Project

Marcus Mclaughlin (11) – Top 10 – Creative Marketing Project

Kenneth Tobin (12), Nathan Kinner (12) – 11th Place – Virtual Business Challenge Hotel

Josh Carlin (11), Jake Cohen (11), Kasper Zemajitis (11) – 12th Place – Virtual Business Sports

"It changed my high school experience for the better" – Lauren Zimmerman

"ICDC is an awesome experience! Although it is largely a competition, there is never a dull moment. This past week, I was able to get closer to people at my own school but also network with people from around the world. This experience will forever shape me as a person and a student" – Brianna Morigney

"I wouldn't want my first time in California to be with any other group" – Krish Deodhar

“It was able to introduce me to people I never would have talked to before! It helped me grow in my abilities to speak and present as well as interact with new people! These 5 days will forever be imprinted in my memory!” - Hafsa Bilal

About West Bloomfield High School DECA:
West Bloomfield DECA is an International Competitive Business Organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in four fields of business: marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. The West Bloomfield High School DECA chapter integrates classroom instruction, applies learning, connects to business, and promotes competition in order to prepare the next generation to be academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible, and experienced leaders. Students enrolled in any West Bloomfield High School Business class may participate in DECA.
Connect with Us:
Facebook: West Bloomfield High School Business Academy
Twitter: @wbhsmarketing
Instagram: @wbdeca

Contact Information
To learn more, please contact:
Julie Zalla, DECA Advisor
West Bloomfield High School DECA
julie.zalla@wbsd.org