37 District 99 students competed at the Illinois State Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) Competition and seven qualified for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Orlando in April. DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.
North High DECA had 29 state competitors, six placed top 10 in their respective events, and four qualified for the National competition.
North High State DECA Qualifiers: Abby Koors, Will Pecho, Nick Miller, Rosie Jurasas, Matthew Ghanayem, Nathan Boris, Brin Driscoll, Eddie Hren, Clay Wise, Sophie Goray, Morgan Rosenberg, Payton Sirota, Davis Johnson, Charlotte Klasing, Katherine Gross, Jaina Rattary, Josh Roddy, David Cesario, Cole Rattary, Lily Buehler, Mia Salerno, Julia McGuire, Sam Hicks, Emma Gramm, Will Thomas, Sam Scacco, Paul Castlebuono, Blake Varsolona, Steph Chiganos
North High Students - Top 10 and National Qualifiers:
- David Cesario: Principles of Finance - National Qualifier
- Katherine Gross: 4th place in the Restaurant and Food Services Management - National Qualifier
- Samantha Hicks: Quick Serve Restaurant Management - National Qualifier
- Julia McGuire: Personal Financial Literacy - National Qualifier
- Cole Rattary: Principles of Hospitality and Tourism
- Mia Salerno: Principles of Marketing
“I’m very proud of our state and national qualifiers,” North High Career and Technical Education teacher and DECA Coach Larry Baca said. “DECA is a way for students to set themselves apart from their peers. It is not easy to come up with creative, innovative, and practical business ideas in a mere 10 minutes, and give well articulated pitches to industry professionals with confidence. It can be very intimidating. These students should be proud of themselves for accepting the challenge. Best of luck to David, Katherine, Samantha and Julia at the national conference!”
For more information on North High DECA, contact Larry Baca at lbaca@csd99.org. For more information about Illinois DECA, click here.