Last year, Reedy Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) won “Chapter of the Year” and one of its senior officers won the DECA scholarship. This year, over 200 Reedy DECA competitors qualified for the state competition in Dallas, yet another testament to the program’s excellence and the competitors’ hard work and dedication.
“We have 450 members in our chapter, and it’s very much a driving community with a lot of bright minds with a lot of potential who do a lot of hard work,” senior and DECA VP of competitions Rohit Shankar said. “We create a very competitive, motivating environment here at Reedy DECA.”
Competitions consist of written and roleplay events and require a massive amount of preparation—whether that means studying for a test, preparing for a roleplay, or practicing a presentation. Competitors tend to vary in their preparation methods, but never in their efforts.
“I’ll take a bunch of practice tests and then, look at what I got wrong and then obviously try and improve on those specific areas,” senior and DECA co-president Charlie Goldberg said. “It depends on the event though, preparing for written events looks a lot different.”
Alongside all that preparation, Reedy DECA competitors are often involved in other extracurricular activities. Between DECA, other extracurricular activities, and academics—their lives can become quite the balancing act.
“I feel like it’s difficult; everyone has to make some sort of sacrifice and you have to prioritize what’s important to you,” senior and DECA co-president Siddha Kanthi said. “It’s all about prioritizing things and then managing your time.”
As a curricular club that centers around business and entrepreneurship, DECA is committed to exposing students to potential career paths and teaching students vital soft skills.
“It teaches them leadership, teaches them about deadlines, it teaches them about responsibilities,” DECA advisor Ms. Martin said. “DECA teaches you how to do things in life, so not only are they doing it here at school, but they’re meeting people out in the community.”
Reedy DECA, while also a formidable and capable chapter, also fosters a driven and close-knit community.
“Everyone looks out for each other,” Goldberg said. “I didn’t know anyone but I made a bunch of friends really fast. I connected with people and some of my best friends at Reedy now, I know through DECA. It’s a great community and I’m really happy I get to be a part of it.”
