With the results in from the late January meet, 11 students are now preparing for the state DECA competition.

On Jan. 24, 25 and 26, 22 DECA chapter members attended a conference competition including students from Orono, Wayzata, Chanhassen, Chaska, Eden Prairie and Hopkins.

The students who made the top eight in their event and are advancing onto state are seniors David Herrera, Autumn Bellesteros, Keenan Kneisl, Akhila Murthy, Sophia Noreen, Cameron Brill, Kalaia Bouley, juniors Mikey Segal and Melissa Clarke and sophomores Hope McCracken and Talia Simonett. At state, students compete against the top people who are in the same events.

Sophia Ross, adviser of the chapter, said in the past she has brought many students from State to nationals and she hopes for the same this year.

“As an adviser, it is cool to see the students in a different light. They are so professional, they are dressed up in suits and just look great,” Ross said. “It is fun to get to know the students and the conference is a great experience.”

According to Ross, 17 students who attended the competition had not competed previously.

“I feel the [mannerisms] of the new competitors vary,” Ross said. “I have some really young students who presented themselves well. They are first year competitors who will do an even better job next year.”

DECA member Luiza Kieffer said she competed in role play for restaurant management and a mock interview.

“At first I was nervous but when I got in front of the judges and actually doing it, I was fine,” Kieffer said. “I like how competitions take skills and they apply it to the real world.”

David Herrera, a DECA officer who made it to state for his advanced level employment interview said the actual presentation was not as bad as he thought it would be.

“It is very nerve wracking because you are really nervous but it cannot show because the judging is all about body language so it is really hard trying to contain those feelings. But at the same time it is something really exciting because it is new and different,” Herrera said.

However, not all competitors were in DECA previous to this competition. Kneisl acted as a replacement for junior DECA member Jimmy Arms in the entry level mock interview.

“To prepare, real life experience [has helped], because I have had a job at Target and Thanh Do where I have had to interview for that,” Kneisl said. “My interviews in the past helped me with experience and answering questions on the spot because you can come up with an answer before.”

At State, competitors will be entered into the same events that they qualified in for state, but may modify the presentations prior to the competition.

“I am excited to go [to State]. I don’t know what to expect or how much different the competition will be. I like to dress up and look nice so that will be fun,” Kneisl said. “Other than that, I am going into it with an open mind and hopefully I will do well.”

The mock interview event includes a prepared application and an actual interview with judges.

“You have to go in there with confidence and own it. No matter what you are going to say, say it with confidence and a smile and be polite in order to do well in this particular event,” Kneisl said.

The DECA state competition will be in downtown Minneapolis on March 8-10.