Eighty-three students, in seven officers, competed in the state competition in Dallas Feb. 21-23. 

 The event was a total of 3 days, including opening ceremony day, competition day, and closing ceremony day where results were announced. McNeil competed with DECA chapters from all over the state.

Nineteen students from McNeil advanced to international competition, and there were many finalists as well. This was significantly more than the five who advanced to internationals last year.

   “This year was my first year in DECA, and I didn’t know what to expect from competition,” junior advancer Stephanie Ro said. “However, the competition was incredible, and I’m so happy I decided to be a part of it this year.”

   Ro said she and her group and weren’t expecting to advance but were thrilled when they found out they were advancing to ICDC.

“It made us feel like our hard work paid off” Ro said.

International competition will take place in April in Orlando, Florida.

“I’m super excited to go to internationals to spend more time with friends and family and go to Universal and Disney World” DECA President Vinay Shah said.  

   “I wasn’t very surprised with my results because I spent a lot of time practicing for my event, but nonetheless I’m really happy I get to move on. State was such a fun experience with my friends and my favorite memory was riding scooters together downtown Dallas.”