Five Northwood DECA members qualified for nationals while competing with around 2,000 students at the DECA state competition, held in Greensboro March 10. Juniors Rachel Yanders, Hannah Cook and Bayan Dadressan and seniors Nadeem Sbaiti and John Dunning will represent Northwood in Nashville, Tennessee April 22.
Cook is a second-time competitor at the DECA State competition and is co-president of Northwood’s DECA chapter.
“Besides having the chance to be an international winner, you really get the chance to improve so many business skills,” Cook said. “Skills you’re going to need for interviews and college and just life in general. A lot of it is public speaking and even just speaking one-on-one, and you’re definitely going to need that for college interviews and job and career interviews. You also need to learn how to dress professionally; you see a lot of people there that are not, and you really need to make sure that this is definitely an appropriate length of [your] skirt, [if] you should wear slacks and how you present yourself to everyone else when they don’t know you. You want to come across well.”
There are many events that DECA offers to their competitors, and each event is in the style of a role-play or a promotional plan. Dunning explains the process of competing in a role-play.
“You never know what the problem is going to be until you go in that room and turn over the sheet of paper,” Dunning said. “It is exciting, because it’s all on the fly, all original ideas, and you have to come up with stuff with quick thinking, and you actually have to sell it at the same time.”
Sbaiti has been in DECA for three years and is a second-time DECA States competitor. He competed in a sports and entertainment promotional plan and a role-play with automotive marketing.
“For my promotional plan, I had to pick either some sort of venue or some sort of restaurant or place and create a promotional plan for how to get people to come in and how to get more business for that specific place,” Sbaiti said. “I had to write an eleven page paper and do some research.”
Dunning has been in DECA for two years, but this is his first time competing at the state competition. For Dunning, DECA has reaffirmed his career plans.
“I would say, so far in this experience, the biggest thing it’s done for me is reassure my belief that I have this lifelong interest in the business world and general business and interactions, whether it be through sales, marketing, etc.,” Dunning said. “It’s reassured the fact that I believe in myself as somebody who can be successful in these fields and these concentrations, and it’s kind of given me a boost of confidence, going into college and getting ready to study business, that this is something that I can safely invest my life in.”
For Sbaiti, DECA has helped him decide on what he wants to do with his future.
“Before I did DECA, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do,” Sbaiti said. “After being through DECA for three years and everything that it offered, I want to do something in the business aspect. Specifically, I’m not sure. My [possible] major…was international business.”
Cook likes going to competitions for DECA because everyone there has similar interests.
“I just really like the atmosphere at DECA,” Cook said. “Everyone has the same goals in mind…. I feel like most people are really driven on their future, and they know that business is going to pay a part in that…. But you go to states and just the atmosphere, there’s always music playing, they have DJs there and everyone you meet there is truly just like you; they’re focused and driven, which is nice.”
– By Hannah Gail Shepherd
