Aspiring entrepreneurs attend DECA international conference

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After months of hard work, 22 students from the school’s chapter of The Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) traveled to Orlando for the International ICDC DECA competition, April 22-26. 

DECA is a business organization that focuses on preparing students interested in the areas of finance, marketing, hospitality and management. Each competition has three sublevels: prepared events, online simulations and role plays or case studies. 

For prepared events, students complete a written project and deliver a prepared presentation on their business-related topic of choice. In online simulations, they compete against other student entrepreneurs in online business simulations such as managing stocks or running an online business. Role-plays involve a multiple-choice exam and an in-person role-play or case study on-site with a judge. 

Regional competitions took place in early February and state competitions were in March. State winners were able to showcase their talents at the international competition in Orlando where they faced off against over 20,000 other high school students. Three students earned top worldwide finalist awards.

Top 10 Worldwide Finalist in Business Services Marketing: Leonid Cherevko

Top 10 Worldwide Finalist in Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series: Romir Mohan

Top 20 Worldwide Finalist in Quick Service Restaurant Management: Yash Singam

After wrapping up their competitions, students received customary hats from DECA. (Photos/Heather Weissman)

On the final day of the trip, students were invited to attend an awards ceremony. At the ceremony, Junior Romir Mohan (left) and senior Leonid Cherevko pose with their medals. Both placed in the top ten. (Photos/Heather Weissman)

Senior Yash Singam placed in the top 20, a fitting end for his final school DECA trip. (Photo/Heather Weissman)

After hours of competition, students were finally able to relax as they attended Top Golf to enjoy some much-deserved time off. (Photo/Heather Weissman)

Junior Austin Klein (left), sophomore Jessica Wong and junior Melissa Bermudez competed in the prepared events category and created posters to go with their presentations. (Photo/Heather Weissman) 

Irene, now a senior at American Heritage, returns to staff as the Online-Editor-in-Chief for her third and final year with the Patriot Post. She loves all things literature and spends most of her time with her nose in a book. Her passion for writing started early, and she is currently the co-president of the Quill and Scroll Society. When she is not studying or writing articles for the wonderful iPatriotPost, she enjoys volunteering and helping lead a multitude of clubs at Heritage. Since 2014, she has worked alongside Best Buddies, an organization that advocates for inclusivity for those with intellectual and physical disabilities. As a co-founder and current board member of the South Florida Best Buddies Student Advisory Board, she plans fundraisers and service projects, including the annual Friendship Walk, which raised almost $300,000. She looks forward to making this year special and as amazing as possible.