Jordan-Matthews High School future business leaders win big at NC DECA Conference

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Twelve Jordan-Matthews High School students won the chance to represent their school in the upcoming national DECA Competition in February.

They were part of a team that traveled to Greensboro from Feb. 24 to Feb. 26 to compete at the state level. Ten of the qualifiers will be traveling to the national competition in Atlanta this April. The competitions included written tests, presentations and live role plays where students presented and defended their business plans on the spot.

DECA trains young people in high schools around the globe in marketing, finance, hospitality and tourism, business management, and administration. The club prepares these students to become the community and business leaders of tomorrow. Many students have found their passions and career paths by participating in DECA.

North Carolina DECA has over 7,000 members representing over approximately 150 chapters, which makes the state level especially competitive for small schools like Jordan-Matthews.

“I am so proud of these kids,” said team advisor Rachel Daniel. “We really didn’t know what we would be getting into coming back to state competition after the pandemic. This school year has been so hectic, but the kids really stepped up to organize practice materials and find time to practice with everything else they have going on to make this one of our most successful years yet.”

At the state awards session, 13 J-M students got on stage for different events. Calvin Conroy was a finalist in the Accounting Applications event. Brock Rohaly won the first trophy of the day, 2nd place in Business Finance, while Geneva Woolford and Evelin Muñoz Tebalan brought home 6th place in Food Marketing & Human Resources Management, respectively. Sarah Dekaney and Macy Beavers took 5th place in the Marketing Management Team event. Courtney Moffitt, Erin Maddox and Peyton Snell won 3rd place for their Business Solutions paper and presentation. First place in Buying and Merchandising Team went to Colby Daniel and Ben Dekaney. In the final event of the competition, Emma Wieber and Brady Andrew captured 1st place in the Travel and Tourism Team event.

“A lot of us are seniors who have been in DECA since our freshman year,” said club president Geneva Woolford, “and it really means a lot to go to nationals in our final year.”

“We’ve worked so hard for years, cultivating our marketing skills and studying for the tests,” said Emma Wieber, who also serves as the regional vice president. “Winning at states is a result of all that hard work, and going to nationals is an immense triumph for all of us.”

Jordan-Matthews students going to nationals are already busy preparing to compete. They also launched a campaign to raise money for the trip by selling raffle tickets and putting together a GoFundMe page  (DECA nationals by Geneva Woolford) to advertise their ongoing success.