After about 200 DECA students completed their testing Dec. 5 or wrote papers due Dec. 31, the club hosted a district awards ceremony Jan. 17.

The top 15 students in every event qualify to attend states, receiving a medal, with the top 3 winning a trophy as well.

As of Jan. 17, 103 students have qualified to states. According to advisor Ms. Heather Weissman, even more students are likely to qualify in the upcoming days — due to other students dropping out of some events or out of the competition altogether due to scheduling conflicts. About 50 students wrote papers but also entered in testing categories in order to maximize their chance of qualifying; if they qualified in both categories, they will get to choose one to compete with at states, opening up more spots for other students.

The Florida DECA Career Development Conference takes place Feb. 29 through March 3. DECA chapter president and senior Austin Klein feels proud of his team and looks forward to attending. “It shows a ton of dedication to have more than 100 kids qualify and I’m extremely proud of everyone for putting their best foot forward, whether they qualified or not,” he said.