Following a very successful district competition, OHS DECA competed in the DECA State Virtual Competition on March 3 and 4. All 52 OHS DECA members had qualified to compete in the state competition and some members had lots of success. 

The DECA State Competition was done basically the same as the district competition with everything being virtual. Students got a username and password to login and get their role play scenario then record a presentation of their ideas. Although the state competition was held virtually, it was still very special to have all 52 DECA members qualify for the state competition for the first time in program history. DECA Adviser Mr. Scott Pierce said, “That was pretty cool, it’s too bad they all couldn’t have experienced the in-person state conference. That’s the highlight for most kids.” In years’ past the state conference was held at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis. Qualifiers would take a bus up and stay in a hotel for a couple of days while competing in their events.

Even though DECA members were not able to experience the in-person conference, they still enjoyed being able to compete virtually. DECA competitions are a lot of fun for students and are a great way for them to work on their communication skills, decision making, and how to work as a team. Junior DECA member Connor Ginskey said, “My favorite thing about DECA competitions are being with friends, doing team role plays, and seeing Pierce.” There were also some added perks to doing the competition online versus in-person. Senior DECA Officer Jonny Wall said, “I liked that I was able to wear sweatpants and shorts with my suit jacket.” Given the circumstances, OHS DECA made the most of their opportunity to compete in the state competition.

OHS had four teams qualify for the finals in their team role play events. The four teams were Connor Ginskey and Damian Boubin, Jacob Meiners and Ashton Jensen, Claire Heyne and Olivia Shaw and Lane Versteeg and Jonny Wall. These teams competed in their role play events again on Tuesday, March 9 for a shot at qualifying for the DECA National Competition. Although none of the teams qualified for nationals, the team of Heyne and Shaw placed in the top eight in the Travel and Tourism Team Role Play event, which is a great accomplishment. 

Although the team is not moving onto nationals, OHS DECA was very successful at the DECA State Competition. The DECA National Competition will be held virtually on April 24-27.