Adventures at the State DECA Competition

A few weeks ago, I travelled with the WWU DECA club to compete in the annual DECA State Competition. DECA is a club on campus that focuses on improving an individual’s knowledge of business, leadership and finance. For more information on the organization, check out our WWU Clubs post here. DECA used to stand for “Distributive Education Clubs of America”, but the people in charge realized that the phrase didn’t really describe the club very well. So now the letters don’t really stand for anything *shrug*. During state competitions, students compete in various events such as marketing, retail management, business ethics and accounting. In each event, an individual or a team analyses various case studies or simulations and are judged on the most correct or creative response. A multiple-choice quiz for each category is also involved in the judging. Other judged events include prepared business plans, chapter and member of the year, and a trivia bowl. All of this takes place over two days in a resort located about an hour away from the school by the Lake of the Ozarks. 

                This year, I drove down with two friends and fellow club members, one of which was Nina (who wrote a post for us, check it out here!), who is our club director. Once we arrived at the resort, we settled into our room and prepared for the competition to start. The multiple-choice exams were taken electronically on campus the previous week, so all we had to focus on was the event itself. I competed in the Accounting event. Once it was time for me to start, I had 30 minutes to read the case study and prepare my answer, and then 15 minutes to present my answer in front of the judge. I was super nervous! Competitors can use their computer and the internet, but all of the events rely heavily on critical thinking and business decision making. My particular case study for accounting involved evaluating the efficiency of various inventory systems, something I was familiar with but not overly confident in. I went in, tried my best to answer all the questions, and attempted to spew all my answers at the judge without sounding like a fool. I thought it went pretty well, and it took a while for all the adrenaline to wear off after my event was completed!

                The rest of the day was spent waiting for my friends to complete their events, and then we all went to eat dinner at an Italian restaurant together. We also mingled a bit with another club during dinner. After eating, we all went back and changed into our ‘business clothes’ for the opening session, where we listened to a speaker who told us all about why the football team “the Rams” moved from St. Louis to Los Angeles. It was very interesting to hear about all of the circumstances and business decisions that resulted in the move. After a long stressful day of competing, all of the chapters from around Missouri unwound with a fun trivia competition (we lost, badly, by the way) and then some fun games down in the resort’s pool area. The games, coupled with swimming and music, was very entertaining, and raised money for the MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association).

                On the second day, the last events were run. Since I only competed in the accounting event, I spent the day with a friend exploring the resort. Who knew tromping up and down stairs and gravel paths in heels could be so fun! We soon sat down all together and had lunch (some very delicious and fancy lasagna) and had the awards ceremony. I personally did not do very well and did not place, but some other students from WWU made it onto the podium! Also, we won Chapter of the Year for a second time in a row! We celebrated with lots of smiles and pictures before the drive home.

                As a girl who spends the majority of her time in the barn covered in horse drool and manure, it was nice to be in completely different environment for a while. It reminded me that “oh yeah, I am also an accounting major, and this is what the business world looks like.” It felt strange to be dressed up and not have any equine responsibilities for two days but was definitely a positive and fun experience. DECA gives students the chance to improve their business skills and prove how much they know and have learned. I cannot wait to compete again next year!

~Jennah