34 Spartans have qualified for the state competition for the DECA Leadership Development Conference.
Courtesy of Matt Nicole
On November 19th, 66 of TJ’s marketing students participated in the annual Leadership Development Conference at the Brown Palace hotel in Downtown Denver, and out of the 66 competitors, 34 qualified for the state level, and 24 will be alternates.
The state conference will take place in February at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs in hopes to qualify for the National Competition in Florida in April. These conferences include a content based exam and two business related role plays. Over 350 students participated from nine different high schools and represented the schools in Denver with a DECA organization.
“Participants benefit in many ways by competing,” says Senior DECA officer John Jones, who explains what makes the experience unique. “Not only is the competition fun, it helps you gain a lot of skills, not only for the business world but for life as well. From an officer’s stand point, the conference was really fun because I got to see all the kids that I helped do well in their events,” said Jones.
The students must remain poised and collected in order to do well in many events. “I would advise students to stay focused and confident throughout the events, but especially in the role play. Even if you’re nervous don’t let it show to the judges,” said Jones
“The state competitors will have to ‘up their game’ in order to be successful,” says Senior Rylan Rudebusch, state qualifier, who explains why this conference is so important to the participants. “You want to qualify for state and move forward because it determines if you have a good understanding of the business world,” he said.
Rudebusch has many ideas for how to improve upon his performance before advancing to the state level. “I’m going to study and review old tests as well as go to study nights. It’s important to practice role plays as much as possible,” said Rudebusch. For the new members, he shares Jones’ advice in saying, “Be confident. Make sure you study your material and dress professionally.”
“The state qualifiers are sure to make TJ proud no matter what. Between the knowledge, skills and professional looks necessary to advance, Spartans are bound to do their best,” says Jones.
Listed below are the names of students who qualified in their events.
Individual Events
Aspen Anderson: State Qualifier – Principles of Finance
Halen Alemseged: State Qualifier – Principles of Marketing
Deja Trotman: State Qualifier – Apparel and Accessories
Ana Munoz: State Qualifier – Apparel and Accessories
Corey Hernandez: State Qualifier – Apparel and Accessories
Teyawna DeBose: State Qualifier – Apparel and Accessories
Ganbayar Bayarsaihan: 1st Alternate – Automotive Services
Robert Sato: 2nd Alternate – Automotive Services
Tyler Bybee: State Qualifier – Business Services Marketing
Andrew Becker: State Qualifier – Business Services Marketing
Mark May: 1st Alternate – Business Services Marketing
Emily Michel: 4th Alternae – Business Services Marketing
Mitchell Mankoff: State Qualifier – Food Marketing
Matthew Loffelmacher: State Qualifier – Food Marketing
La’ija Grace: 1st Alternate – Food Marketing
Brandon Gonzalez: 3rd Alternate – Food Marketing
Sophie Thilenius: State Qualifier – Hotel and Lodging Management
Sarah Southard: State Qualifier – Hotel and Lodging Management
Nicole McGinley: 3rd Alternate – Hotel and Lodging Management
Mohamed Tambal: 4th Alternate – Hotel and Lodging Management
Dylan Jennings: State Qualifier – Marketing Management
Chelane Obland: State Qualifier – Marketing Management
Casey Edelman: State Qualifier – Quick Serve Restaurant Management
Chanel Berumen: State Qualifier – Quick Serve Restaurant Management
Morgan Bruzas: State Qualifier – Quick Serve Restaurant Management
Alaon Maxwell: 1st Alternate – Quick Serve Restaurant Management
Katy Isaac: State Qualifier – Restaurant and Food Service Management
Jennifer Holman: State Qualifier – Restaurant and Food Service Management
Gaby Landeros: State Qualifier – Restaurant and Food Service Management
Chidiebere Agwu: 1st Alternate – Restaurant and Food Service Management
Christine Vlier: 2nd Alternate – Restaurant and Food Service Management
John Jones: 3rd Alternate – Restaurant and Food Service Management
Daniela Cardona: State Qualifier – Retail Merchandising
Justin VanNostrand: State Qualifier – Retail Merchandising
Alec Propp: State Qualifier – Retail Merchandising
Abby Montgomery: State Qualifier – Retail Merchandising
Jessica Craft: 1st Alternate – Retail Merchandising
Rachel Leiker: 2nd Alternate – Retail Merchandising
Sammie Erlacher: State Qualifier – Sports and Entertainment Individual
Tim Mahoney: State Qualifier – Sports and Entertainment Individual
Robert McMacken: State Qualifier – Sports and Entertainment Individual
Quinton Riesenman: State Qualifier – Sports and Entertainment Individual
Dakota Talavera: 1st Alternate – Sports and Entertainment Individual
Kelly Sinopoli-Martinez: 3rd Alternate – Sports and Entertainment Individual
Kyle Freeland: 4th Alternate – Sports and Entertainment Individual
Team Events
Arisa DeBose/Naomi Moore: 1st Alternate – Buying and Merchandising
Lidya Aman/Naznet Tesfai: 3rd Alternate – Buying and Merchandising
Alexis Barber/Ruyi Du: 3rd Alternate – Hospitality Services
Rylan Rudebusch/Hayden Johnson – State Qualifier – Sports and Entertainment
Quiz Bowl – 1st Place (State Qualifiers)
Kiera Classen, Kayla Kukendoll, Shauna Pierre-Louis, April Rega
