Chatting with a Former DECA Member

Guest post by Erika B, OOHS Senior Marketing student + DECA member

We had a chance to catch up with a former DECA member and OOHS alumni Maggie Debolt!

Maggie was an OOHS graduate in the class of 2014. Mrs Gellenbeck remembers her as a hard working, driven and fun-loving student. Her wedding-planning business is still a standout in Mrs G’s memory!

Let’s see where Maggie is now and how DECA impacted her…

Q: What was the most influential part you learned from DECA?

A: DECA really taught me how much goes into marketing but also taught me how to take those skills and apply it to all aspects of my life. I’ve taken so much of what I learned there to learn how to market myself and the places I’ve worked.

Q: How many competitions did you go to?

A: I went to all the competitions both years including states and nationals. I took the school based enterprise (SBE) paper junior year and then qualified with the stock market game. Then senior year I wrote a paper, and then qualified with my HR event, which placed second at state.

Q: What advice would you give to students working on their written events and role plays right now?

A: I would say take everything you’re learning and try to apply it to your real life where you can. It’s the best way to get it to stick in your brain and it makes it more second nature. The more comfortable with the topic you are the more natural it comes across.

Q: How did DECA help you prepare for college and the classes you had to take?

A: DECA was huge in preparing me for college because I had more business knowledge going into it than most of my peers. However, it was also beneficial when I joined a business society that really allowed me to expand on my skills. While I did attend college I left and became a hairstylist and find myself using more of those skills now than I did at school.

Q: What is your job and how does it relate to marketing?

A: Currently I am a stylist. Utilizing those marketing skills has allowed me to build my clientele by marketing myself and the salon I work with. It helps build the comfortability with clients and grow my business.

Q: What was your favorite DECA memory?

A: My favorite memory is probably when my classmates, Mrs. Shanahan, and I went to Universal and Disney when nationals was in Orlando, Florida. We got to explore the parks and meet so many other students from the United States! It was the best!

Maggie “then” (pictured left) as an OOHS student/DECA member at our district’s Entrepreneurship breakfast …