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College of Management Students Place in International DECA Competition

This was the students’ first participation at the conference which drew more than 1300 students from 230 college campuses.

The international association of students studying marketing, management, entrepreneurship, business, finance, hospitality, sales and service is dedicated to developing competence and confidence in students by empowering them with skills needed for successful careers.

Brianne Bower and Thomas Lamm, both sophomores in business administration, founded the NC State chapter in the fall of 2008. Bower and Lamm, in addition to organization officers Billy Burnet, Sarah Mazur, and Alison Long, competed in management-related events, with the following results.

  • Burnet and Lamm: Top 10 finalists in the Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Case Study event.
  • Mazur: Top 10 finalist in the Restaurant and Food Service Management Business Simulation.
  • Bower: Top comprehensive exam score in the Travel and Tourism Business Simulation.

p. Alison Long, new to DECA in college, competed for the first time at the conference and reported that she found her experience in the Retail Management event rewarding.

Burnet and Lamm said they chose to focus on sports and entertainment marketing for this year’s collegiate competition because of their knowledge and prior experience with the topic, although they had to sharpen their skills and knowledge for the competition.

The Collegiate DECA member, recognizing the value of preparation for their division, had judging similar events at the high school level. In fact, every competing member at the international conference has judged high school events this year at the district and state level. Not only is judging a way to give back to the DECA community, it is the best preparation for competition, the NC State chapter members said.

“Sitting on the judge’s side of the table has given us the best understanding of what a winner is like,” Bower said. “It is only natural to have the urge to judge these events after being involved so long.”

DECA and the International Career Development Conference also gave the students an opportunity to lead. Burnet said he hopes to continue strengthening his leadership skills both personally and collectively through NC State’s DECA chapter.

As the only University of North Carolina-system chapter, NC State Collegiate DECA hopes to help expand the collegiate division in North Carolina. “There is plenty of room for us to be influential in the future of Collegiate DECA,” Burnet said. “By attending this conference, we now have the knowledge and experience we need to help Collegiate DECA grow at NC State and at other North Carolina colleges and universities.

Collegiate DECA is open to students of all business-related majors.

Photo

Left to right, front row: Alison Long, Sarah Mazur, Brianne Bower; back row: Thomas Lamm, Bill Burnet