On Dec. 11, the members of the DECA team traveled to Sheraton Hotel for a district competition against other schools’ students. Each of them competed in various categories either individually or in pairs, several coming out triumphant.

“I feel that we performed at such a high level for such a short preparation period that we had. New members gained great experience and returners loved cheering them on,” senior Daniel White stated.

White and senior Rachel DeCesaris worked together in the Marketing Management Team Decision-Making category, receiving first place. Sophomores Natalie Dubovi and Madison Snavely earned second place as a pair in Hospitality and Tourism Team Decision-Making. Working individually, sophomore Cade Skuse received second place in Accounting Applications, senior Hailey Baldinger got second place in Apparel and Accessories Marketing and sophomore Mason Hedge earned third place in Hotel and Lodging Management.

“Me and others really didn’t think we did well, but it was all fine in the end [because] we all did extremely well,” Hedge stated.

The aforementioned students, having placed at the district level of competition, will be moving on toward the states level. Students are also able to get to states by writing a 10-30 page manual in a group of one to three people that does research on their chosen topic.

“Overall, as a team, I believe that we performed very well. We did as much practicing as we could have done and it showed,” Hedge said.

Each member of the DECA team spent much of their time together and separately to get themselves ready for the event.

“We had several meetings discussing on what to expect at the competition. Then the day before, we had a study and group bonding session to prepare for the competition,” White shared.

“I took practice tests online to get familiar with the types of questions that would be on the test, I looked at sample roleplays to see what the judges were looking for and I researched my category to get familiar with certain terms,” Hedge said.

Those who will be moving on to the next level will be traveling to Hershey on Feb. 21-23.