On March 11th and 12th, juniors and seniors in the Marketing and Business Administration (MBA) class travelled to Columbus, Ohio to participate in the State DECA competition. To celebrate such success in the Career Tech program, the Mentor Board of Education is recognizing those who qualified at their meeting on May 10th.

DECA is a non-profit student organization that educates young leaders and entrepreneurs and prepares them for the business world. Every year, the organization hosts international competitions for both high school and college students to challenge their knowledge and apply what they have learned to real-world scenarios.

Fourteen MBA students were able to attend the event and see what an in-person DECA competition looked like for the first time. Bonds were formed not only between the students who were in four different classes, but with the hundreds of participants from all over Ohio.

“This year, our DECA State qualifiers competed in person for the first time in 2 years,” says Mrs. Tousignant, MBA instructor. “I am so proud of how well they performed. Not only was this a brand new experience for our juniors, our seniors had never experienced an in person competition either. They all did a phenomenal job, their professionalism and business expertise shined through this experience.”

Euclid junior and state qualifier Ashaunty Williams expressed her thoughts on the competition, stating, “DECA was an unforgettable experience. I got the opportunity to meet new people and get closer with the people I already knew.”

Although not everyone was able to travel to Columbus, the program had a significant amount of students qualify to attend the competition by winning the Regional DECA Competition that took place at the end of January, and they will all be recognized at the Board Meeting. Those accomplished individuals are as follows:

• Nicholas Seifert (1st Place; Business Finance Series)
• Brandon Valeri (1st Place; Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making)
• Katie Klepcyk (1st Place; Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making)
• Laney Gyure (1st Place; Hotel and Lodging Management Series)
• Jonathan Magerko (1st Place; Principles of Finance)
• Braeden Knue (1st Place; Accounting applications)
• Anthony Evans (1st Place; Automotive Services Marketing Series)
• Cayla Anderson (1st Place; Entrepreneurship Series)
• Benny LoDuca (1st Place; Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series)
• Max Fredeen (2nd Place; Accounting Applications Series)
• Sanaya Howard (2nd Place; Apparel & Accessories Marketing Series)
• Ashaunty Williams (2nd Place; Entrepreneurship Series)
• Michael Archacki (2nd Place; Principles of Business Management and Administration)
• Evie Megery (2nd Place; Principles of Business Management and Administration)
• Gwen Mahoney (2nd Place; Quick Serve Restaurant Management Series)
• Haniyah Imran (3d Place; Marketing Communication Series)
• Nathan Armstrong (3d Place; Principles of Business Management and Administration)
• Cameron Michael (3d Place; Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series)
• Juliana Bohla-Kolencik (3d Place; Business Services Marketing Series)
• Tyrone Penny Jr. (4th Place; Accounting Applications Series)
• Lexi Cindric (4th Place; Business Finance Series)

Mr. McKnight, MBA instructor, wrote, “I thought the students performed remarkably well in their return to in-person state-level DECA competition, with four students qualifying for state finals and one student placing in the top ten this year! I am very proud of these students and their achievements, which is a direct reflection of their ability to plan, prepare, and compete at a high level in their related business events. All competitors completed an online test and presented solutions to real-world business case studies to business professionals. All students that are enrolled in the Marketing & Business Administration (MBA) program at Mentor High School are a part of Mentor DECA, which is a co-curricular international organization of emerging leaders and entrepreneurs.  Over 170,000 high school students in over 5,000 classrooms and 3,200 classrooms across the world compete in DECA.”

Congratulations to everyone who made it so far in this prestigious competition and took advantage of such a wonderful opportunity in the Career Tech program. If you would like to congratulate these students in person, join us at the Board of Education meeting May 10 at 7:00 pm or view the livestream on Mentor’s YouTube page, Cardinal TV.

Does this resume-building opportunity interest you? Check out the Marketing and Business Administration Program’s page on the Lakeshore Compact website.  See how you can become involved in a class that educates high school students into being the business men and women of tomorrow.