On Monday, February 11, I went to judge the Nevada DECA Competition at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino. Not knowing much about DECA, I had no idea that this day would mean as much to me as it did to the students. DECA is an organization that is co-curricular - meaning they are in the classrooms (like us).
DECA has core areas such as
- Civic Responsibility
- Leadership
- Entrepreneurship
- Understanding of Free Enterprise.
Did I mention these were High School students? Some were only Sophomores! The day was amazing. These students had 10 minutes to prep their case, and come present it to one of the hundreds of judges that volunteered that day to facilitate the competition.
Students I judged competed in areas such as:
- Financial Repercussion of showrooms vs. trade shows, regarding startup remodeling company
- Financial Benefits of a stock buyback program for a security company
- Marketing and Research for the rebranding of a boutique hotel chain
These were mock situations, of course, but the energy and enthusiasm was overwhelming. Many thanks to Nevada DECA for doing the amazing work of preparing young people for the adult/business world. It inspires me to keep Andson innovative, and not to forget our mission: empowering through education. Remember, if education is about fun and opportunities, STUDENTS PARTICIPATE!
Image from Nevada Deca website