DECA aims to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in high schools and colleges. They have a total of 246,111 members currently enrolled in high school with 3,112 collegiate members across America on top. The Battle chapter has 12 people currently a part of DECA
DECA students participate in community service projects, business-related challenges, learning experiences, and competitions at regional, state, and national levels. DECA is also assisting them in accomplishing their goals by allowing students to begin networking early and gaining experience in real-life situations.
“I think DECA is cool because it allows me to learn about real-life situations.”Coen Buxton, club member said.
“DECA is a great way to start networking before you get out in the real world with a vast network of nearly 246,111 students, you’ll have the opportunity to meet people from around the world, talk with industry professionals, visit college exhibits, and hone your competition and communications skills,” said Whitney Milbourne, volunteer specialist on the official DECA website.
Being a student in DECA allows students to qualify for merit-based scholarships; these are awarded based on involvement, leadership, community service, and academic performance. Over $200,000 is given away in scholarships each year.
Being a part of DECA also allows students to join SkillsUSA and compete in their national competition, which if you win could lead to scholarships, tools of the trade, and even job offers on the spot. Columbia Public Schools has had several state champions and many others who placed highly, including state champions from the Columbia Area Career Center Aashish Gadicherla for Automotive Service Marketing and Molly Shull for Business Service Marketing, as well as the duo of Ajith Chandrasekhar and Cash Schopflin for the Financial Services Team Decision-Making event.
Member Breleigh Moore said, “DECA teaches you how to network connections while also preparing you for various degrees.”
According to the official DECA website, 38.2% of students in DECA plan on going to college for a business or management degree, compared to the national average of 15%, and 44.2% of DECA students plan on going into business or management versus the national average of 18%.
The Columbia Area Career Center’s DECA Chapter qualifies students for international competition. The DECA competition is divided into two parts, students first take an exam to test their marketing knowledge. The second part is role-play, where students are given a situation where they must develop and present their solutions to a judge.
To join DECA students must be enrolled in a marketing course and talk to the teacher of that course about joining. To get more information about what classes to join to participate in DECA, email [email protected].
