Written by senior Orange DECA member, Veda R 

“States” for DECA is essentially the second competition level which provides students a chance to qualify for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) taking place in Orlando, Florida at the end of April. States allows students from various high schools all around the state of Ohio to compete against each other. 

State competition for DECA is similar to district competition. Students compete in numerous events which include role-plays, case studies, and presentations in various business fields such as finance, marketing, and management. The top 12 candidates who participated on Tuesday, March 11 proceeded to the final round which took place on Wednesday, March 12. Congrats to the Olentangy Orange students who made it to the final round!

After round one of competition, students attend morning mini awards on Wed to see who advances to the TOP 12 in each event for finals!

Then after a second day of competing, students attended the Grand Awards Wednesday evening to find out if they qualified for ICDC.

Congrats to the following students who’ve made it this far! Students advancing this year in their state level qualifying event include… 

-Reshika B, a junior who placed fifth for her role-play in Principles of Finance

-Linden M, a junior who placed 5th for his role-play in Marketing Communications Series

-Saran and Devyn, two juniors who placed second in Project Management Business Solutions

-Jacksen Bice, a senior who placed third in Financial Consulting

-Poorvi & Veda, seniors who placed third in Independent Business Plan 

Additional students who will be competing at the International stage in the School Based Enterprise Event are…. 

-Joslin C, senior

-Adam W, senior 

-Claire J, senior 

-Megan S, senior 

All of our students put in an incredible amount of work and skill for this competition. We are so proud of their dedication and the achievements each one of them has made throughout this long and nerve-wracking experience.

Looking forward to ICDC, we hope that each of our participants has a chance to further their development in their events and make us proud. Congratulations to everyone who will be participating in ICDC. Good luck, have fun, and watch out for that DECA Glass!