Sparta shines at DECA state

SPARTA — After preparing for quite some time, a select group of students from Sparta High School took the February trip they’d been waiting for. Students enrolled in the marketing classes, taught by Sandra Chiappini and Donna Smith, loaded their things onto the two coach buses headed to Cherry Hill to compete in the second round of the DECA competition otherwise known as the State competition for a three-day conference. DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) is a marketing club, which began in 1999. Donna Smith introduced the program when she started teaching marketing at Sparta High. Smith believed students needed a hands on, competitive activity preparing them for the business world. Smith’s passion for the program has earned her the nickname “DECA Donna.” As a result, the program has grown in popularity over the years. “I’m obsessed with DECA personally because the trips are fun and you get to compete and have your hard work recognized,” said participant Sarah Konecnik. The club is available to students taking the marketing courses offered at the high school. Students must first qualify in the regional competition, by taking a one-hour test of 100 questions based on their chosen category and competing in a one on one role-play business scenario with a judge, to move onto the state competition. Categories consisted of Travel Tourism Marketing, Business Law and Ethics, and Fashion Merchandising Promotional Plan, to name a few. The program directors have no doubt that club helps prepare students to enter into marketing, business, or public relations careers in the future. “As teachers we get to see the students use the classroom learning’s and watch them put them to real life business situations,” said Donna Smith. Eighty-five Sparta High School marketing students qualified for the state competition held in Cherry Hill. The Sparta High School students have a reputation for being fiercely competitive in the state DECA competition. Although stress levels were at an extreme high at the conference, so was the competition. Out of the 85 students Sparta High School had 20 finalists, 10 of which will move on to the next level, the national competition, and will represent Sparta at the International Career Management Conference in Louisville, Kentucky at the end of April. It is all business at each level of competition throughout the DECA program. Students are required to not only behave professionally but must also be dressed in business attire throughout the competitions. “DECA gets you prepared for a real job experience and college interviews because it is a serious setting in which your manners and social skills are judged,” said student Mike Spekhardt.