DECA States is an annual competition in New Jersey that allows high school students to demonstrate their business skills and compete in various events. DECA is a national organization that focuses on preparing young leaders and entrepreneurs in fields such as marketing, finance, hospitality, and management.

The DECA States competition is the culmination of months of preparation by students who qualified for the state competition by competing at the local and regional levels. Students compete in a variety of events at DECA States, including written tests, role-play scenarios, and presentations. These events are intended to test students’ understanding of business ideas as well as their ability to apply those concepts to real-world scenarios.

One unique component of DECA States is the opportunity for students to network with other students as well as business professionals. Various DECA States events are judged by business executives who give their time to evaluate the students’ efforts. This gives students valuable feedback on their abilities and allows them to connect with potential mentors and future jobs.

In addition to the competitive events, DECA States also features a variety of workshops and keynote speakers. These sessions are designed to inspire and educate students, providing them with insights and strategies for success in their future careers. Students also have the opportunity to attend the DECA States Career Fair, where they can learn about internships, job opportunities, and other resources for aspiring business professionals.

During this year’s NJ DECA States in Atlantic City, many Sayreville DECA members were able to climb their way up to ICDC, which stands for The International Career Development Conference, DECA’s final and most important event of the year. It gathers high school and college students from the United States, Canada, and numerous other countries to participate in a range of business-related contests and activities. This year, a total of 22,000 people are coming to ICDC.

We would like to congratulate all the ICDC qualifiers this year from Sayreville DECA who have the ability to compete at the International Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida.

(Listed below are all the qualifiers and what event and place they won.)

1st Place Community Service Campaign

• Sarah Smith

• Rishi Shah

• Oscar Lin

1st Place DECA Promotional Campaign

• Emilio Diaz

• Teofilo Bugarin

• Sophia Lin

2nd Place Integrated Marketing Campaign Event

• Rhena Johnson

• Wade Guerra

• Tyler-Odeh Abassi

2nd Place Entrepreneurship Independent Business Plan

• Shriya Patel

• Riva Babaria

• Kristy Garcia

3rd Place Start-up Business Plan

• Lasya Bhattiprolu

• Aaryan Parikh

• Phillip Pazdur

Role Play Winners

• 2nd Place Kristy Garcia – Human Resource Management Series

• 3rd Place Riva Babaria – Marketing Communications

• 3rd Place Triscia and Trischelle Afihene – Travel & Tourism Marketing Management Team Decision Making

• 6th Place Doris Lee – Hospitality and Tourism Professional Selling

• 6th Place Jaden Addo – Automotive Services Marketing Series