Park DECA chapter adviser Sophia Ross said despite not making it to finals, the students and herself had a great time at Nationals.

“Nationals went great. It was a really fun atmosphere. The students competed and attended the school-based enterprise academy,” Ross said. “They didn’t make it to finals but that’s okay, because only one percent of people do. But it was a good experience.”

Junior DECA member Alexis Machoka said the experience was enjoyable, and the club got to enjoy the many privileges of going to Nationals

“It went really well. It was a lot of fun. I didn’t really compete, so I got to do all of the stress-free things of going to Nationals. DECA puts on this whole aquarium which they rent out, and they had the Mercedes Benz stadium rented out,” Machoka said. “We got floor passes and got to walk on the field and be front row for the Andy Grammer concert. It was a great experience.”

Ross said Park’s DECA chapter qualified for Nationals, not through competition, but through an application process.

“We qualified for Nationals through a manual we submitted,” Ross said. “The school store operations class were broken up into sections or groups, and each group had to write about what we do based on what the topic is and take a picture of it. We had to put that together and submit that to DECA.”

According to Ross, DECA qualified for the highest level of Nationals

“You can get certified in different levels: bronze, silver or gold, and we received gold level,” Ross said. “So that’s what qualified three students from our DECA chapter to go on the National conference.”

Ross said aside from Nationals, junior DECA member Yonah Davis also recently earned a scholarship due to his economic knowledge.

“I received an email from the Minnesota Council of Economic Education, and they sent out an opportunity for students to write an essay on flood insurance and since Yonah Davis took the personal finance management class, I forwarded the email to him, and he did it,” Ross said. “He won and earned a $3000 scholarship for an essay on flood insurance.”

Machoka said post-Nationals, the group has slowed down and is currently planning the DECA banquet in order to set up for next year.

“Right now we’re not really doing anything other than figuring out the parameters of lettering in DECA as well as planning an end of the year banquet just to close out the year,” Machoka said. “We’ll also at the banquet select new officers and things like that. As of right now there’s not much going on for the rest of the year.”

Machoka said she desired a way to letter in DECA, due to what she believes to be a fair addition to the club.

“I know personally I wanted to letter in DECA  because I know personally I‘m not going to letter in any sports, and there’s a lot of other clubs that letter such as Quiz Bowl,” Machoka said. “I felt like it’s only fair that people should be able to letter in DECA because it’s a lot of work.”