Lakeland DECA Students Prove to be Business Experts

On March 18-20, 's DECA team traveled to Grand Rapids to compete in the 2011 State Career Development Conference against 150 other schools from Michigan.

DECA stands for Distributive Education Clubs of America.

Lakeland sent 41 students, who were recognized for their accomplishments. These 41 students include 30 state finalists and 19 students who will be going to the international conference from April 29-May 4 in Orlando, FL, where they will compete with more than 13,000 high school students from around the world.

“I am very proud of all the students. Taking 19 students to internationals in Orlando is the largest group Lakeland has ever taken,” said Lindsay Rubin, Lakeland's marketing education teacher and DECA sponsor.

Such an accomplishment for each individual — and the school as a whole — wasn't easy. It involved long hours of research, contacting business experts and writing a paper 20 to 30 pages long, Rubin said.

This year, students were challenged to analyze and further develop the advertising for a business and its market audience.

Essentially, all the marketing skills the students learned in business classes were applied to develop the best presentation possible.

Senior Alanna Nagi, who has been a part of DECA for the past four years and is a state finalist this year, said the hardest part of the process was “writing the paper, because (we) can only say so much while contributing everyone's idea.”

On March 18, state judges evaluated the students on various criteria.

“They look at everything, from the way students are dressed to the written and oral communication skills (and their) creativity and enthusiasm,” Rubin said.

Senior Tarah Ehlert has been in DECA for two years and now will be going to internationals. “When we got to present, we were third to go that day," she said. "It was very nerve-racking. I didn’t quite know what to expect, since the judge(ing) changes every year. But once the presentation started, I was able to relax a little and just do my speech.”

There is no doubt that participating in an organization such as DECA offers students an excellent, real-life learning experiencing, especially for those who plan on going into business management, Rubin said.

“DECA has taught me that by being involved and working hard at something, you can get great opportunities to meet new people and be successful,” said senior Samantha Pellett, who has also been involved with DECA for the past four years and is a state finalist.

Several students indicated that no matter how difficult the road was to state competition, they enjoyed their experience at Grand Rapids.

“I would whole heartedly recommend (students) join DECA," said Anthony Edwards, who has been a part of DECA for three years and will being going to internationals for the second consecutive year.

"It's a lot of work in the beginning, but the rewards are well worth it," he said. "The satisfaction you get when your name is called on stage trumps anything I have ever felt.”