On Jan. 24, Prospect’s DECA students competed at the Illinois North Region DECA Competition in Rosemont. 49 students qualified for state, and seniors Alex Styka, Sebastian Parks and Matthew Fouch qualified for the international competition in Orlando, Fla. through a virtual accounting challenge, which required them to analyze business documents and identify accounting fraud in a fictional company. DECA advisor Andrea Izenstark is beyond excited about the team’s success, which she says has stemmed from the hard work leading up to the competition.
“I am so proud to see the student’s hard work pay off,” Izenstark said. “This year we held additional meetings for role-play preparation and structured our group time to implement extra practice. Our competition success is a result of the students taking advantage of this opportunity and their resources.”
Senior Acelle Gonzales, who competed in the DECA international competition last year, was among the 49 who qualified for the state completion, which will be held on Mar. 6 in Rosemont. In her event — Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making (BMTDM) — Gonzales was given a fake scenario and tasked with expanding the target market of a fake product. Due to the amount of competitors, Gonzales and her partner, senior Sophie Jeng, were only given 24 minutes to prepare instead of their usual 30.
“Even if we don’t know completely what the answer is, we can cover it up by being creative with what we say,” Gonzales said. “Sophie is really good at drawing right on the spot; she draws [our plan] right away and it’s perfect. Having visuals is really important for the judge, so we’re super strong in that.”
Gonzales and Jeng then had 15 minutes to present to the judges and were asked a series of follow-up questions. The duo placed first in BMTDM, earning themselves a bid to the state competition. In addition to their role-play, the two are writing a 10 page paper for the state competition that they will present to the judges.
Looking ahead to state, Gonzales’ goal is to place first in both the role-play and the paper, which would qualify them for the international competition.
“I’m just excited to see everyone from different schools because we’re trapped in a hotel for three days with nowhere to go because we can’t leave,” Gonzales said. “The DECA people who went to state aren’t people I [know extremely well], so it’s nice getting to know people, and everyone’s open to talk and be nice.”
Another state qualifier was senior Lexi Kuzak, who competed in the Retail Marketing Series (RMS). Kuzak was given eight minutes to prepare her two role-plays, and she had to take a RMS test that contributed to her overall score. She placed second overall, with a first place in one of her role-plays and third place in her test and other role-play.
“You don’t really have a lot of time to practice exactly what you’re going to say when you’re in front of the judge,” Kuzak said. “Going up there and having to say everything off the top of your head, I was proud of being able to do that in a way that conveyed confidence and the right material that the judges needed to hear.”
Kuzak is also looking forward to the state competition, and her goals include placing in the top 10 and qualifying for the international competition.
“I’m very excited to hang out with everybody and be in a room with people who have similar interests to me,” Kuzak said. “I’m very excited to practice my business skills.”
Click here for the full list of the DECA state qualifiers, courtesy of Andrea Izenstark.
