On March 7, Emerson’s Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) team, attended the state competition at Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas. The team achieved great success, with 11 DECA participants advancing to the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Orlando, Florida, from April 26-29.

In order to reach this high level accomplishment, DECA students extensively prepare and dedicate time to their respective competition events. This preparation includes taking practice tests and refining their business and presentation skills.

“Most people participate in an event called roleplay, where you are going to be given a situation on the spot and assigned a role related to the business field,” DECA club president Jihan Kapur, 12, said. “The only way to practice these roleplay events is to do them in repetition. The other section of this event is the testing, where participants are assessed on their knowledge on business, marketing, finance and hospitality. The best way to master the exams is to, again, practice.”

Beyond individual preparation, DECA members take advantage of external support from club officers.

“Our officers make a lot of resources available to us,” Achuthan Rajesh Menon, 12, said. “We have a portal online with numerous tests from past years. Our officers also host workshops for us to collaborate and improve our skills.”

As an ICDC qualifier, Rajesh Menon adopts a mindset of ‘work hard, play hard,’ as he heads to the national competition next month.

“It’s senior year, and I finally made it,” Rajesh Menon said. “I don’t just want to have fun–I want to leave DECA on a good note. We are going to push ourselves and try to get first place for the coveted DECA glass trophy.”