Across the United States  there are numerous career development organizations. One of the nationally recognized organizations on our campus is Distributive  Education Clubs of America, popularly known as DECA. 

DECA prepares students to be emerging leaders in fields such as entrepreneurship, marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. This organization was founded in 1946 in order to build connections and networks between young people and businesses to better educate students and increase leadership skills. 

The organization  provides a wonderful opportunity for fellow Carolina Forest students. This is a club to help with leadership and networking. DECA can provide students with social opportunities and ways to solve problems. 

James West, a DECA advisor at Carolina Forest, stated, “ My favorite part of being a part of DECA is the students being involved and them becoming future business leaders. They are driven to be successful by being a part of DECA.”

In the month of November, The National Organization of DECA celebrates its successes. There is a National Service Day also known as “Do it for DECA Day.” This is when members are encouraged to go out into the community and provide community service. These services are meant to provide opportunities for leadership and to better the community. This month is one giant reminder to do well throughout the year while being a DECA member.

On November 5, our chapter members  provided the service of a trash pick up day to clean our campus. DECA will also be creating hygiene bags for a Period Project. The hygiene bags will then be donated to local community members in need of the items. DECA’s biggest community service project that “kicked off” in November will be collecting can tabs. These tabs will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House helps with hospital care for children and housing for their families. 

DECA is also involved in  state and regional competitions. Once at the state level,  DECA has many events a member can compete in to win. However, the regional event in Charleston has a difficult test centered on the member’s interest. The member must complete this test and half of the test score counts as part of the competitive event.  Once the member gets to the regional competition, the member will receive a scenario based on the cluster picked by the member such as entrepreneurship, marketing, finance, hospitality, or management. Once the member receives the scenario, they are given ten minutes to come up with a business plan. This is done with a pen, paper, and a calculator only. When the ten minutes are completed, it is time to “pitch” the business plan to the judges. This competition is a great opportunity to gain experience for the future leaders in business.

Amelia Earl, Carolina Forest Vice President of Marketing, added, “I’m so excited to meet other fellow DECA members at the regional competition in Charleston. It will be so much fun as we enjoy the new experiences that will come.”