By Jacob Bertram, DECA Vice President
Pictured above: Amy, Sam, Jake, Mathew, Jacob, Colby (not pictured Lillie)
The Collegiate DECA students had to change things up this year. Instead of shaking hands and meeting in person, they had to unmute themselves and share their screen.
The 2021 Collegiate DECA Career Development Conference was the first ever virtual state conference. They extended the conference to a full week instead of 3 days, which made it easier to navigate through the online conference. Students competing in case study events were given their cases 24 hours before their competition time. This is different from the normal 1 hour before your competition time. The sales presentation looked different too, with 20 minutes to present to a panel of 1-3 judges via a screen. Business attire was still required and SCTCC won the best dressed award (If there was one!). Although the competition was different, SCTCC had the same mindset of go for the gold.
SCTCC Collegiate DECA had seven students participate in various events of Marketing, Management, and Professional Sales. The team included Jake Avdem, Colby Peterson, Amy Dvorak, Samantha Macho, Lillie Chavez, Mathew Odette, and Jacob Bertram. All fighting alone, yet together, we combined to make the MAGNIFCENT 7! We even took a team picture. The team was led by none other than our SCTCC DECA advisor, Becky Shand. She is an experienced coach who knows how to lead a team to victory. Below are the results from the DECA CDC state conference.
- Professional Sales:
- Jacob Bertram came home with 3rd Place!
- Colby Peterson Placed in Top 6
- 4 of 6 made Final Competitive Rounds
- Sports and Entertainment Marketing:
- 1st place taken home by the team of Colby Peterson and Mathew Odette
- Restaurant and Food Service:
- Samantha Macho Placed in Top 6
- Event Planning:
- Amy Dvorak and Lillie Chavez Placed in the Top 6
- Special Recognition goes out to SCTCC Outstanding Service Awards presented to:
- Colby Peterson, DECA President
- Jacob Bertram, DECA Vice President
All DECA Members have earned the honor to move on to the International Collegiate DECA Conference, which will be held virtually at the end of April.
Since this was my last State conference, I was honored to be able to compete again and work as a team to achieve victory. Even though we couldn’t have a team huddle, we still celebrated together over zoom during the awards ceremony. I feel that no matter the result, working with a team and being proud to represent SCTCC is the best feeling. I would like to thank Becky for her hard work coaching us all in the Zoom format. I also would like to thank the Magnificent 7 for being a great team to work with and getting to know better.
Congratulations to everyone and good luck at the next competition, the Magnificent 7will be taking a voyage to nationals! YEE HAW!
Finalists:
- Colby Peterson
- Jacob Bertram
- Jake Avdem
- Lillie Chavez
CONGRATULATIONS to all participants for your hard work and dedication!