On Thursday, 15 members of the DECA club at GHS competed in SCDC, the state competition located in Boston. From Gloucester, sophomore Isla Black and junior Lexi Thomas both won their individual events and will be advancing to the international competition in Anaheim California.
With 3,000 high school students in attendance, students had an array of activities to choose from including taking part in different business workshops or shopping around the Prudential Center.
After exploring and settling into the hotel, students headed to the Hynes Auditorium for the opening ceremony. There, DECA members listened to the different updates from their state officers, and had the chance to hear from guest speaker Meredith Guerriero, the Chief Operating Officer of Fetch. Guerriero’s main sentiment was to remain resilient throughout the trials of life as determination only makes one stronger.
Wrapping up the night, students split off into their respective categories and attended a brief meeting regarding their event schedules. The next morning marked the start of competition with some students presenting the business papers they created and others showcasing their problem solving skills in role-plays.
That night, a mini awards ceremony was held to recognize the students with the highest scoring papers, roleplays and exams. Top scorers from Gloucester include Isla Black for her paper in Finance Operations Research and Lexi Thomas for one of her role plays in Principles of Marketing.
To help relieve the tensions of presenting, students had the opportunity to attend DECA After Dark, a party in which students can dance, play cornhole, and sing karaoke. During this time is when students from all around the state meet new people and create friendships, one of the prime goals of DECA.
On Saturday, the state competition ended in the final award ceremony to reveal the new state officers as well as recognize those who qualified for the international competition. Gloucester finalists included Black, Thomas and sophomores Kiera O’Brien, Ruby McElhenny and Julian Nixon for their Business Solutions Project. Both Black and Thomas will be taking on thousands of other highschoolers at ICDC in April.
