Last Thursday, March 7th, nineteen aspiring entrepreneurs from Gloucester High School headed to the DECA state competition at the Heinz Convention Center in Boston. These students faced 93 other DECA programs from across Massachusetts, and all students placed high enough in the regional competition two months ago in order to compete last week.

GHS had an impressive showing, and one senior, Delaney Benchoff, will move on to Internationals. ICDC, or the International Career Development Conference held in Orlando, Florida, will include participants from across the world.

After placing fifth in Financial Consultation, Benchoff joins rare company as a Gloucester student to reach ICDC.

As DECA president and one of the first 4-year DECA students at GHS, Benchoff is proud of the success of her teammates, “It’s been an amazing experience for the past four years watching my fellow teammates emerge into advanced, intellectual, business competitors. I know [we have] worked tremendously hard to get to where we are today. Although this is the end of the road for many, we can all look back at our experience with DECA and leave proud knowing we all put in our best effort.” Benchoff also expressed her appreciation for Gloucester’s DECA advisor, Mrs. Ann Grassetti.

Alhough Benchoff is the only GHS student to continue competing this year, every DECA student found successes in their own right, including a number of underclassmen. Eliana Faria, one of only two freshmen to qualify for States this year, received specific praise due to her 3rd place ranking in her second of two role plays, and 15th overall in her category Principles of Marketing.

For many, including Faria, DECA is a new and exciting experience, “I wanted to be part of DECA because I saw it as a chance to try something new and venture out of my comfort zone. I’ve become so much more confident after joining, and will definitely continue to compete for the rest of my high school career,” she said. 

The future of Gloucester’s DECA chapter looks bright, especially with continued underclassmen success.

DECA is a career, business, and marketing organization aiming to prepare students for college and careers in business-aligned fields. Competitions breakdown into 6 main categories, Business management and administration, Finance, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Hospitality and tourism, and Personal financial literacy.