Independence DECA members competed at the 2022 VA DECA State Leadership Conference, held at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, from March 4-6. Thirty seven of these 55 members placed and qualified for the DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC), which will be held in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Distributive Education Clubs of America, or DECA, was founded in 1946 and its mission statement is as follows: “DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. competence, innovation, integrity and teamwork.”

Competitors participated in a multitude of writing and roleplay events over the weekend, which involved presenting their projects to a panel of judges. Seniors Priyanshi Jeevagan and Riya Dass, who are currently enrolled in Advanced Marketing Non Co-Op, took part in a project management financial literacy event in which they took third place. For each category, the top eight qualifiers move onto ICDC. Jeevaganis is also the Vice President of Competitive Events for Indy DECA this year and has previously been one of the Virginia district presidents. 

DECA provides an opportunity for highly motivated individuals to run for state officer positions and help guide other chapter leaders in their commitment to the DECA mission during their term of service. “DECA is a really great experience business-wise and people who are interested should definitely do it,’ you get to go on a fun trip with your friends too. It’s something where you work hard and see your results,” Dass exclaimed. “DECA is for sure one of the biggest high school highlights for me and especially going to ICDC,” Jeevagan added. 

Both of them also explained how they look forward to traveling for DECA events because there is a balance between fun and work. When the team travels to Atlanta, they have many activities planned in addition to competing, such as going to Six Flags. They elaborated on the immense opportunities to meet new people from different areas and network. 

“I don’t think DECA is just for future business majors. I know a lot of people that do it otherwise as it also helps with public speaking and so. In general, your people skills, presentation, time management, work ethic, all improve,” Priyanshi explained. 

Independence DECA members are looking forward to April 22, and in the meantime will be busy taking their feedback from states and using it to prepare their projects to be evaluated at ICDC. Last year both SLC and ICDC were virtual, so members couldn’t be more excited about an in person return.