With a club size of almost 300 students, Carmel DECA has grown to become the biggest and one of the most dominant clubs at CHS. Carmel DECA’s success is unmatched by other DECA programs in the State, competing in the State Development Conference and coming out with hardware and awards consistently year by year. With an open door, DECA has embraced any and all students in CHS, even those not taking specific business -related classes. Through this, students can fill their schedule with interests other than business, while still being able to get a full experience. However, for the upcoming years this option may no longer be a possibility. Carmel DECA recently announced via Instagram that starting next year, the club will be limited to only students taking business classes.

Coming into DECA as a junior, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Brought in due to my friends and with no prior business experience or knowledge, I felt lost and unsure if I really belonged in the club. And it wasn’t just me in this position, as I would often see fellow members from all grade levels without any business background coming into SRT to study and practice for their respective events. From what I saw with my own eyes, DECA gave students who were not a part of business classes an opportunity to learn about real-world problems, subjects that could potentially serve as a career and the ability to get a taste of what a business career could like. The value of holding an open door club for DECA is immense as it allowed student like me to learn and become comfortable with a topic completely unknown to them

The limitation of DECA, however, would take this opportunity away from students. As a senior this change won’t end up affecting me, but it will impact younger students and fellow DECA club members. As someone who has seen the benefits the club has on other students and the immersive experience it provides, I believe allowing any student, regardless of what class they are taking, to be a part of the club is important to the club’s continued success. Although I understand why the change is being considered, most likely to increase participation in business classes and to decrease the growing club size, the importance of DECA is obvious and I strongly push for those responsible for this decision to consider keeping DECA as it is.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Pranav Jothirajah at [email protected]. Read more of his works here. For more content by the HiLite, read it here.