DECA, a student organization at Tupelo High School focused on preparing young people for careers in business, entrepreneurship, finance, and hospitality, celebrated a significant victory at the third district competition in Olive Branch. This achievement has earned them a place in the state competition and the international conference.

DECA members have a very structured preparation process that played a great part in their latest achievement. By focusing on planning and teamwork, they went beyond expectations.

One of their greatest achievements was going with sixteen people and leaving with sixteen medals. The team focused not only on understanding their topics but also on their presentation skills, which played a significant part in their accomplishment.

After all the hard work and dedication, they were able to make it to the international conference. Many of the DECA members earned many awards, and Senior Salma Kamal was able to earn a $1,000 scholarship for being involved in DECA and the National Technical Honor Society.

Taylor Brown, one of the members of DECA, emphasized the importance of understanding the topic thoroughly.

 “So being able to do certain research and understand how everything works is probably the key,” Taylor Brown said.

Mac Wilemon also expressed how they use different resources to practice for their events., 

“Our team utilized various online platforms, websites, and in-person practice to polish our skills for our competition,” Wilemon said.

The resources they found very helpful were Canva and DECA Plus. Canva was utilized to create and practice presentations, and DECA Plus was used to analyze other people’s events.  

Building on this approach, DECA’s hard work in preparing and researching was beneficial in its success at the regional competition.