According to club sponsor Laura Cardamon, DECA will start participating in competitions all across the country starting January. At DECA competitions, individuals within the program take a 100 question test and participate in a role playing activities that simulate the business world; such as marketing management, hospitality, and accounting. The competitions will eventually culminate into the International Career Development Conference (ICDC), where only the top three DECA teams in each state will compete against one another. Cardamon said there seems to be a lot of excitement for DECA’s competitions.

“Students seem very interested in DECA this year,” she said. “We are working really hard in order to compete in International Conference again, which annually takes place in Anaheim, CA.”

Shannon Edelstein, DECA president and senior, said in addition to new goals that are being oriented toward DECA competitions, she has been setting goals to improve the whole DECA team. The goals include increasing membership, maximizing profits in the Spirit Shop and Santa’s Secret Shop and sending at least 20 people to ICDC this year.

“To make sure our goals will be reached, we will have more intense, in-class preparation and more study sessions after school,” said Edelstein, who was one of the 15 people last year that got to compete in the International Conference. “This year I’m trying to redefine Carmel’s DECA chapter.”