DECA students earn way to conference

An additional 22 students finished in the top six in their competitions and were awarded medals.

MIDDLETOWN >> Some 36 Middletown High School Distributive Education Clubs of American students earned their way to the International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, California, in April by finishing first, second or third in statewide competition at the annual Connecticut DECA State Career Development Conference at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington March 13.

An additional 22 students finished in the top six in their competitions and were awarded medals, according to a press release.

DECA is an international organization that “prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe” according to its website.

Middletown High School’s DECA is one of the state’s oldest cocurricular student organizations and has been recognized for the past six years as a top international chapter by the U.S. Army and DECA Inc., the release continues. Its marketing students have held the No. 1 ranking of the state Department of Education for the past three years, said adviser and teacher David Reynolds.

At this year’s conference, 73 Middletown High students competed against over 1,000 students from high schools around the state in the areas of marketing, management, hospitality and finance.

According to Reynolds, the competition included rigorous content-based testing and the performance of case-study problem-solving presentations to industry judges. Fifty events were available to students, all centering on career fields and interest.

Some examples are business finance, marketing management, human resources management, business law, ethical decision-making and advertising campaigns. A typical event included 25 students, the release detailed.

The first-place winners from MHS are Seth Simmons, Gwyn Reutenauer, Morgan Resnisky, Cameron Moskey, Ben Clark, Isabelle Morales, William Gritzuk, Michael Held, Gabrielle Ciarcia and Richard Nakatsuka.

Second place winners are Erika Muzik, Matt Cantwell, Jalen Coleman, Alex Giradina, Maddie Hart, Trevor Getek, Alan Cunningham, Veronica Meyer, Vanessa Pramberger, Marshay Harvin, Jennifer Barbour, Gabi Lanza, Samantha Pizzonia and Taylor Winzer.

Third-place winners are Alyssa Salafia, Hind Fares, Kenny Liappes, Sofian Albayati, Grace DelMastro, Jenna Dickes, Skye Gasataya, Alena Monarca, Jay Nanfito, Mazela Solotina-Lopez, Amalia Sessoms and Aliyah Hayes.

To have 58 winners/medalists is “a new record” for Middletown DECA, said Reynolds.

“Their successes are a result of not only of their hard work and dedication, but also because of the strong support from parents, community members and organizations, university partners like Johnson and Wales, local businesses, school staff, guidance counselors, our Mayor, Common Council, Middlesex Chamber of Commerce and Board of Education,” Reynolds said.

The 36 students will join 20,000 competitors from the United States, Canada, China, Germany, Japan and many other nations at the International Conference in Anaheim this spring.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO At this year’s conference, 73 Middletown High students competed against over 1,000 students from high schools around the state in the areas of marketing, management, hospitality and finance.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Earlier this week, Middletown High School Distributive Education Clubs of American students placed high enough at the Connecticut DECA State Career Development Conference make their way to the International Career Development Conference in Anaheim,...