Staff Writer
Returning members from the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) faced issues at their most recent competition, due to an enrollment misunderstanding. As a result, members were entered in competitions for which they had not prepared.
Along with this setback, most of the students from the South Pasadena chapter were new to DECA, and this competition gave them their first experience with the program.
Although a majority the students in this year’s team were unaccustomed to the sections in which they were competing, many of the members placed highly in their individual sections.
“It was a bit more difficult than in the past because some of us had mixups in our events and so we had to improvise our way through the competition,” junior Vice President Kendrick Shen said. “But we were still able to pull through and do well.”
The students travelled to Mark Twain Elementary School to participate in the DECA conference, competing in events which tested the students’ marketing, finance, and management skills. Martin Luther King Jr. High School organized and regulated the conference on November 7 as a preparatory event for the upcoming district-wide competition.
Several South Pasadena students were finalists in their categories, including Shen in Quick Serve Marketing, senior Madeleine Wong in Sports Entertainment, senior Sterling Wendt in Automotive Retail, and senior Rachel Ba with sophomore Kate Ba in Hospitality Team Decision Making.
“Though we weren’t as successful at this conference as we had anticipated, we’re looking forward to taking our feedback and prepping hard in the next few months for our upcoming District Conference,” club president junior Perah Ralin said.