DECA Competes in Orlando, Florida

By Katie Lemon

Six DECA finalists attended internationals in Orlando, Florida, from April 22-25 and competed against other states and countries in a variety of events. 

Junior Luke Reeve,  Sophomore Audrey Gaffney, and Junior Rashaad Razack participated in School-Based Enterprise Food, Senior  Jacob Coe participated in Personal Finance Literacy, Sophomore Emma Elsey participated in Professional Selling, and Senior Jason Leff participated in Food Marketing. 

The students had a great time in Orlando, both participating in their events and outside activities, such as going to the beach and Disney World.

To prepare, however, the students worked hard to study the specifics of their events. 

Elsey, who designed a software monitoring company to present at the competition, described the steps she took. 

“I have been preparing the past few months by examining the wide target market for software monitoring companies,” said Elsey. 

In addition, Elsey made sure to study selling techniques.

“I thoroughly studied how to successfully sell the software to potential clients and DECA judges,” Elsey said. 

In order to do this, she put her information into packets to present to the judges. 

“I gathered all the information by creating a brochure to present,” said Elsey. 

Razack described a similar process. 

“We are making a slideshow to present Victor’s Place and how it works,” said Razack. 

Razack stated that, like Elsey, he studied the target audience and the judging techniques in order to prepare. 

“I learned a lot about the networking involved, and I feel like it’s a great experience,” Razack said. 

Razack also studied Victor’s Place in order to present it to a group of judges as a part of his School-Based Enterprise Food event. 

“I learned a lot about the way they run their business,” he stated. 

DECA Advisor Jill Martinez also further communicated the importance of the competition.

“They’re representing the state of Arizona, so this is a big deal,” said Martinez. 

Each student worked hard t0 earn a place at Internationals, making Sunnyslope proud.