Sara Varela
Editor-in-chief
DECA continues to break its own performance records as they once again excel at the State competition. All the representatives of Broward College’s North DECA chapter positioned in the top 10 of their events and were the only team to do so. The performance qualifies them for the international competition to be held in April of this year in Washington, D.C.
“The most gratifying aspect of all of this is to see the students succeed and to know that they are benefiting from this experience,” said Steven Gross, advisor of DECA North Campus. “It is an honor to not only be their advisor but also to mentor these fine students.”
The state competition hosted more than 20 chapters and over 230 students from Florida International University, Florida State University, University of Florida, among many other state schools.
The team competed in 12 different events and placed within the top 10 in 11 of them. The team also broke their own record of awards collected at a single competition earning nine in total, including First, Second, and Third place. Participants were required to take knowledge-based tests and present in front of a judging panel for 15 to 20 minutes.
Broward College’s students were praised by the judges for their excellent written and oral presentation skills as well as their high level of critical thinking and deep knowledge of the content in their respective fields.
“Broward College faculty and administration should be proud,” said Gross. “The goodness of how we do [in competitions] reflects how students are taught across all of Broward College.”
Bernard Durandisse earned first place as an individual participant in Retail Management and Nekita Burnett and Luigh Joseph earned First place as a team in Business Ethics.
“I was elated to find out that we had won First place in Business Ethics. It was phenomenal because I competed and gave it my best despite being sick, it was definitely a dream come true,” said Burnett.
DECA is an international student organization that prepares leaders in many fields including marketing, business management, hospitality and more. Students from any major can join.
Benefits include training in critical thinking, analysis and presentation skills.
“You will gain a significant insight of how the business world really works and it gives you the additional training in soft and interpersonal skills everyone needs,” said Gross.
Photo courtesy: Steven Gross