TJ qualifies 31 for state.
by Katie Bone
10% of TJ’s students are enrolled in the DECA program, making TJ’s chapter too large to send everyone to the district competitions. Students are presented with a mock test in their field of competition and only the top 55% of the chapter will advance, if they chose to, to the district competitions.
Districts were held on November14th on the Johnson and Wales campus in North Denver. There, the students spent the first hour taking a multiple choice test on the subject in which they have chosen to compete, such as retail merchandising, apparel and accessories, automotive, and sports and entertainment merchandising. After finishing their tests, the students had the chance to explore the campus and greet students from other schools. Each student received a ticket for lunch at a certain time, where they got to taste the delicious food prepared by the Johnson and Wales’ culinary students.
The DECA members received a time to attend their role-play. When the time came, the members were given a business situation in which they had to solve a problem or present a sales pitch, and they had ten minutes to prepare before being called before the judges. The tests are graded, and role-play points are tallied. Later in the day, a mini-ceremony was held to announce the qualifiers for state. Qualifiers are able to participate in the state competition. “Districts make you feel like you’re a CEO,” said DECA Vice President, Michael Davis.
The qualifiers for state in individual categories are: Apparel & Accessories: Sarah Martin, Ana Chauca-Diaz, Karina Desroses, and Yoko Tiscareno Automotive: Casey Crookston, Tom Gengler, Jeff Atkinson, and Anthony Horvath Business Services: Matt Kleberger, Michael Davis, and Haley Phillipus Food Marketing: Tino Lamorie, and Mitchell Mankoff Hotel & Lodging: Alex Gustafson Marketing Management: Briawna Lewis, and Dylan Jennings Quick Service Restaurant: Boris Tubic Restaurant & Food Services: Rhea Boyd and Joey Scarlett Retail Merchandising: Alex Kaufhold, Alex Clark, Andrew Knoll, Jakim Anderson, and Katie Bone Sports & Entertainment: Robert McMackin, Scott Bruskin, and Chris Salazar The team event qualifiers were, Crystal Kelley & Brittany Rau for Sports & Entertainment, and Tommy Moehlman & Justin Racine for Travel & Tourism. If a qualifier does not have the opportunity to go to the state competition, an alternate will be chosen to compete. The alternates from TJ are: Tylan Rudebusch, Colette Hernandez, Tim Mahoney, Bianca Castor, Casey Edelman, Paige Wilson, Thomas Currington, Tyrell Beauford, Danite Arefaine, Rebecca Holt, and Lauren Kelsh.
If the members qualify, they then go to the state competition. The state competition lasts for five days, beginning on February 22nd and is at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. There, competitors meet and greet with other students from around the state. Each student, prior to arriving at the hotel, is given a badge which has his or her name, area of competition, and time and location of events. Students attend an opening ceremony where they get to know their fellow DECA members. Members stay in the dorm sections of the hotel. Students take a test as they did at districts, and instead of one role-play, they’re expected to do two, as well as go to several workshops on leadership and other business related skill sets. “My favorite part of state is being able to have tons of free time. You get your events done, and you get to socialize and have a great time at the hotel,” said DECA President, Karina Desroses. At the end of the five days there is a closing ceremony where the top competitors are honored.
DECA (Distributive Educational Clubs of America) is an association of marketing students who take classes to prepare them for careers in the marketing of goods and services, and marketing management. Marketing education helps develop skills that prepare students for entry into employment. DECA is designed to strengthen and reinforce the lessons learned in the classroom. Marketing students at TJ run the school store and the Snacks on Tracks (SOTs) during passing periods. About 10% of the students at TJ are currently enrolled in the DECA program.
The marketing classes used to be located in room 121, but this year has found them relocated to Grant Laman’s old room, 103. The move was in part due to the convenience of its location. It is now across the hall from the other DECA Advisor, Danny Showers. The students often traverse to Showers’ room for various guest speakers and presentations, as it is much larger than Nicolo’s room. It is much easier to visit Showers now that it’s also located with the other CTE (Career and Technology Education) classrooms, grouping them all together in one area of the building. The new room is also equipped with air conditioning, a feature the old room lacked. “It’s hard enough on the computers to be on all the time without adding a hot room to the mix,”’ said Nicolo.
