It is no question that around school one of the most prominent clubs is DECA. This club is dedicated to preparing high school students to go into the professional world. Students who partake in local DECA competitions/tournaments, are tested in the fields of marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. This nationwide club boasts over 200,000 members in over 3,500 high schools and 15,000 members in 275 institutions at the collegiate level all over the country.

At Kennesaw Mountain, members of this renown club are prepared to be rising leaders and entrepreneurs in the professional world. These “soon to be” leaders have partaken in regional, state, and even national competitions in which they have been recognized throughout. Over the many years DECA has been present at Kennesaw, the club has won regional and state titles several times. This year, the DECA team is pursuing nationals at Nashville, Tennessee. Along with the yearly competitions, members occasionally travel to local areas such as Ga Tech and Turner Field to experience what it is like to work there professionally.

One may ask, “What do you actually do at DECA competitions and events?”. Well at the numerous competitions, members are given a written component and an interactive component going with the career clusters of marketing, business management and administration, finance, and hospitality and tourism. For the exam portions, students have take a 100 question test and place in the top 20% to qualify. Then during the competition, attendees are put through an interview process that is one on one involving the various career cluster chosen. Members are evaluated on approach, attentiveness, and creativeness.

In school, the DECA organization has an agenda of giving to the community. They help out with basketball games, charity events, and football games. Recently, DECA helped out with the Harrison vs Kennesaw basketball game and even sponsored a half time 3-point contest to raise money. The teacher who sponsors the DECA Activities-Mrs. Fiechtl- constantly promotes everyone to join this amazing club. She believes that the club gives valuable experience for a future in any area.

To be considered a member of such a club is honorable. It requires character to compete against other schools over the country. Our local DECA organization here at school constantly tries to enroll newcomers in order to expose them to this amazing experience of meeting new people and forming connections for a lifetime. Now the next question is…. “Are you DECA?”