This past week, members of our school’s DECA business class traveled to the DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC), located in Atlanta Georgia, where thousands of students from around the world gathered to compete against each other.
After months of preparation from our students, a total of 59 made it past states and represented our school with great determination and hard work at the competition.
Several students earned awards and were recognized at ICDC. Sophomores Amelia Vaz and Reilly McCarthy placed top twenty in the world in the Independent Business Plan category. Seniors Alejandro Bourdier, Natalie Bahret, and Meghan Ryan placed top twenty in the world in the Business Solutions project. Lastly, junior Sienna Goldberg and senior Ben Wilhelm placed 3rd in the world in the Sales Project category, earning themselves DECA glass.
Sienna and Ben talked to The Flying Onion about their experience.
“DECA has been such an important part of my high school career, and winning glass at ICDC was a huge accomplishment that I will never forget,” Sienna said. “All of the work that Ben and I put in over this past year has helped shape me into a better and more dedicated person. Overall, DECA is an experience that has taught me lessons and created memories that I will carry with me long after high school.”
Ben added on, sharing, “DECA has had a profound impact on my abilities and confidence as a student. It has taught me valuable lessons not only about business principles but also about how to be a better teammate and leader.”
“Finishing my career by winning glass is truly special,” he continued “The award was the culmination of many hours of hard work and dedication from Sienna and me, in addition to tremendous support from Ms. Symmes, the rest of the advisors, and the chapter as a whole. DECA has given me far more than a trophy; it has given me memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.”
Business teacher and advisor, Ms. Meghan Beaulieu commented about ICDC this year.
“This was an exceptional group of students, and I could not be more proud of their hard work, resilience, and dedication throughout the year,” she said. “They exceeded every expectation and represented Danvers at the highest level on the international stage.”
We want to congratulate all of our students who represented Danvers High over at ICDC. We are proud of their success and leadership and look forward to seeing what our future DECA class accomplishes.
