The Evening Leader

Competing at internatio­nal level

St. Marys DECA does well at career developmen­t conference

- By SKYLER MITCHELL Staff Writer

The Memorial High School DECA Club came back from the Internatio­nal Career Developmen­t Conference with not only an interestin­g experience under the finalists’ belts, but with Top Ten placement in one of the events.

The club has been working hard over the past year, creating projects that they’ve presented on a local, state and, as of now, the internatio­nal level. The conference was something that the students were proud to participat­e in, especially with the help of their teachers.

“The idea behind these events are that the groups have used project management tools to work through a large event,” stated Heidi Lisi, the DECA advisor and marketing education instructor. “So from initiating the project to monitoring and controllin­g the events as they go, executing all of the details of the project and then evaluating the results at the end.”

The competitio­n was stated to be tough, especially with so many students having to put large amounts of effort into their projects. Due to COVID having messed up plans for the previous conference­s, they were glad to do it in person this year, and Lisi herself was glad they were able to make it so far.

“The level of competitio­n at our state conference is very, very high,” explained Lisi. “Ohio DECA is extremely competitiv­e in the internatio­nal aspect, so just to move on to the internatio­nal level is quite an accomplish­ment.”

Eleven students were able to qualify this year for the competitio­n, with nine competing in various different events. One team was able to make it to the finals, consisting of the students Ayden Francis, Samantha Hertenstei­n and Ethyn Krites.

These students worked in the Project Management Sales

event, presenting their RiderOpoly board to the judges and audience in attendance. They had to talk on various topics relating to their idea, ranging from the planning phases to the final product, as well as write a 20-page paper relating to it.

“We just have to say thank you to the businesses that sponsored our project as well,” Hertenstei­n stated. She’s planning on joining

DECA at the collegiate level at West Virginia University to study forensic accounting with a minor in analytics. “That was a large part in how we got our success.”

The competitio­n had been difficult, but the three placed fourth in the event, a big achievemen­t due to the scope of the competitio­n. They were glad to even compete on that level, and they were glad to see the final product reach as far as it did.

“It really does go to show that what you put in is what you get out of it,” said Francis.

He plans on using the skills DECA gave him to eventually get a sales position that he wants to be successful in. “The more time you put into it, it’s going to be more than you get out of it.”

The team members credit each other for their success and they’re happy to have worked on this project together for so long. As seniors, they plan to take the lessons they took from this experience and apply them to their everyday lives afterward.

“Surround yourself with people that are going to make you better,” said Krites. He hopes to go to Wright State Lake Campus to major in Communicat­ions in a degree in Marketing. “These two people sitting right beside me have made me the best me that I can say it’s been in a long time.”

The other finalists that went to the internatio­nal competitio­n competed in these events: Lexi Mabry in the School Based Enterprise; Morgan Rempfer in Project Management Business Solutions; Jenna Fowler and Aaliyah Newland in Project Management Financial Literacy; Ava Knous in Integrated Marketing Campaign; and Audrey Shannon of the Ohio DECA Executive Officer team, which voted for the National Officer Team. The only finalists that qualified but were unable to attend were Audrey Ruth and Macy Turner for School Based Enterprise. The Rider-Opoly boards are still being sold if anyone is interested in having a copy. For more informatio­n on that, feel free to contact Heidi Lisi at heidi.lisi@riders.net.

 ?? Staff photo/Skyler Mitchell ?? The MHS DECA Club was grateful for the chance to participat­e in the Internatio­nal Career Developmen­t Conference, where they competed at an internatio­nal level. The nine finalists that went consisted of the students (front) Morgan Rempfer, Jenna Fowler, Lexi Mabry and Aaliyah Newland, as well as (back) Samantha Hertenstei­n, Audrey Shannon, Ethyn Krites, Ayden Francis and Ava Knous.
Staff photo/Skyler Mitchell The MHS DECA Club was grateful for the chance to participat­e in the Internatio­nal Career Developmen­t Conference, where they competed at an internatio­nal level. The nine finalists that went consisted of the students (front) Morgan Rempfer, Jenna Fowler, Lexi Mabry and Aaliyah Newland, as well as (back) Samantha Hertenstei­n, Audrey Shannon, Ethyn Krites, Ayden Francis and Ava Knous.

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