Recently the Shadow Ridge DECA team attended the state championships where they had an eventful weekend full of fun and competition.
“First day we got there we went right into the opening ceremony where all the board members of the DECA organization spoke and ultimately got us hyped for the upcoming days. Then we settled into our hotel rooms and went on to prepare with our teammates since the first day of competitions was our team event. My partner (Jennalyn Ho) and I focused on practicing role plays and testing each other’s vocab. Then we competed and we did really well (or so we thought),” says senior Maya Garay. “We all grabbed lunch and hung around our rooms waiting for other teams to finish competing. We attended a social networking/charity activity in which we wrote thank you letters to LA Firefighters. The next day we got breakfast and I practiced for my individual event. After I competed I went back to my room and waited for the rest of my chapter to finish their events. We all got dinner as a chapter. The next morning we had our final closing ceremony where awards were announced. (4 of our members qualified for the International Conference).”
The DECA squad put in lots of work before they even went to compete to prepare for the tough challenge the competition would bring.
“We spent a lot of time doing test practices as each roleplay competition also has a 100 question exam to go along with it. Due to the fact you can be awarded for both performance and exam score, we tried our best to reach all opportunities of getting Shadow Ridge on stage for awards. We did this by making sure members would take practice exams, go through vocab, and practice with others to make sure they know what type of performance DECA judges are looking for,” says senior Jenalyn Ho.
Though the competition had its stressful moments, the competition was a fun filled time even hosting a talent show for the participants.
“I had a fun time at the talent show, being able to see all my members have fun and not worrying about the stressful parts of the trip. Most of all I think my most favorite was being able to see all my members and chapter have a good time and genuinely see the community DECA is, as a senior and the president, it warmed my heart knowing I could spread the love I have for DECA to them,” says Ho.
Given it being a business competition, participants had to compete in several events including role plays and other community service events.
“For roleplay comp: I problem solved issues within a business that was given to me and I had 10 minutes to come up with a solution, personally mine was in marketing and entrepreneurship. Then I had to act like a marketing manager and a partnership entrepreneur with one of my DECA teammates and then present to a judge my solution,” says Ho. “For activities general: We participated in community service, where we wrote letters to firefighters who helped with the LA fires. While doing community service, there was also the chance to network with other schools in Nevada, where I got to see my friend that I have from different schools that I met through DECA. Another activity we participated in was the talent show where we got to see many funny acts and cool dances.”
DECA is always a fun time and hosts many fun people, the senior members of DECA would recommend joining DECA for many reasons.
“The community and friends it’s allowed me to find and grow with and the competitive thrill that it gives that constantly makes me want to compete more,” says Ho. DECA really is a place for everyone. Even if it may seem something you usually aren’t drawn to, I would still very much check it out.”
