DECA hosted nearly 3,000 RRISD students at McNeil for its regional competition. 117 out of 280 McNeil students advanced to the state level of competition for their events on Saturday, Jan. 11.

DECA is a business-focused extracurricular club designed to help students gain leadership skills and improve on public speaking. One of the big aspects of this club is its business competitions. 

“There are a few different events,” junior Sarah Dang said. “We have the written event which is a 20 page written paper that is later presented, roleplay where you take a 100 question test and present a case study, TDM which is team and individuals and VBC (Virtual Business Challenge) which is a video game event.”

Dang said all of these events are different in their own ways, with the only difference being that VBC qualifies you straight to nationals, while most of the qualifiers for state compete in the role play events. 

“I did AAM, which is apparel and accessories marketing, and I did a roleplay,” junior Aahana Gondalia said. “I was given a case study and had about ten minutes to prepare, and then presented it to a judge.”

Gondalia said that her roleplay event was different, because her event was AAM but scored just the same as her peers, while Harlan Shaw said his roleplay event ranking was based on his test score and presentation of his case study. The test is used to show how much knowledge each student has about business overall. 

“I was really happy I qualified for state because I was a part of DECA last year but I didn’t really put that much into it,” Shaw said. “I’m happy to have achieved such a big accomplishment.” 

Norwood said he believes students are greatly impacted by DECA because it allows them the ability to achieve goals they didn’t think they would be able to. 

“You really have to put a lot of work into it, but you end up being really proud of yourself,” Norwood said. “You get to improve your public speaking, you do something you never really thought you could do, and you’re just part of that energy and excitement at these business competitions.” 

Norwood said whether the students win or not, they usually want to come back for more next year. Dang especially enjoys DECA as this is her second year doing it, and believes it’s one of the best clubs she could have joined.  

“My event was pretty stressful because it’s historically been a really competitive event and last year I actually didn’t make it to states so there was a lot of pressure,” senior Kedar Panchal said. “I was extremely stressed out but it was like a huge relief when I found out that I actually went and made it to States. It was like a huge weight off my shoulders.”