DECA students from the high school  travelled to Columbus to compete at states. They competed in different categories to determine the best business salesman/woman.

Students who placed high enough will go on to further competitions. Any student who placed 4th and up in a competition was invited to go to the next one as well.

Distributive Education Clubs of America, DECA, is a way for high school and college students to prepare for their future, or current, college major.

DECA has 200,000 high school members with DECA clubs in 3,500 schools worldwide. DECA also has 15,000 college members with DECA in 275 colleges.

DECA is in all 50 states. Also, it is in The District of Columbia, Canada, China, Germany, Guam, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Spain.

One reason DECA was created is to help people become better equipped to start their own business and handle all the affairs of their business.

The main idea of DECA is to help students planning to major in entrepreneurship, marketing, finance, hospitality and management. DECA will help work with students and give them the skills they need.

DECA is not only for students planning to major in those areas: DECA also works to help further student’s knowledge in teamwork skills, leadership and individual growth.

By teaching students teamwork skills, leadership and growth, the program will help students later on in life. These skillsets are needed in every major for college, and also in the real world.

Each DECA competition has five different subjects students can compete in; business management and administration, entrepreneurship, marketing, finance and hospitality and tourism.

More specific subjects students can compete in are sports, hospitality, sales, human resources, marketing communications, business services, retail, advertising, fashion, entrepreneurship and accounting.

All five categories have more specific and detailed subcategories for the students to choose from. There is about 56 subcategories all together.

Students can compete solo in competitions, and people who placed first through fifth got to advance to state level. Students can also compete in two person teams, and the top three, they advance to state level.

“Those in the top four or five of their event can continue onto nationals which is in Orlando, Florida this April,” Lisa Mowles, one of the DECA advisors, said.

Stow’s DECA has 30 students who competed to win a spot in the state level competition. Of the 30 students that qualified, 25 of them made it to states.

High school students from all over the country compete in DECA competitions, including some college students. There is a DECA organization in all 50 states.

Stow is part of DECA’s district XI. District XI includes: Stow, Tallmadge, Kent Roosevelt, Firestone, Coventry, Wadsworth, Barberton, Springfield, Buchtel, Kenmore, Trumbell Country Career Center and East.