Four Oxford High School students recently earned honors at the DECA International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Senior Heather Marra placed fifth in the world in the Hospitality and Tourism Marketing Research competition.
Marra worked with Soothe Your Soul to create a generational marking campaign designed to attract Baby Boomers to the downtown Oxford business.
‘She did a great job,? said Steve Ruch, OHS teacher and DECA adviser.
Senior Savannah Fullmer, senior Olivia Hale and sophomore Alex Schultz placed in the top 16 in the world in the Financial Literacy Promotion Plan competition.
The trio went to Clear Lake Elementary, the middle school and the high school to educate students on topics such as budgeting, financial planning for college, and credit scores, what a good one is and how to maintain it.
‘I was really impressed they did a project that spanned the entire age group,? Ruch said. ‘That was one of the things the judges were really impressed (with). They tried to involve all ages, not just one specific group.?
Twenty-three Oxford DECA students qualified to compete at the international conference and 21 actually attended.
‘We’ve been right around that number for the last couple years,? Ruch said. ‘We’ve had some spikes and some dips here and there, but that’s a good number of us.?
DECA is a group of career-oriented students studying marketing, finance, hospitality, business management and entrepreneurship. It has more than 185,000 members in 5,000 high school chapters from all 50 states and nine countries.
Ruch believes competing helps DECA students strengthen their skills in terms of analytical writing and making presentations, while at the same time boosting their self-confidence.
Oxford DECA qualifiers for the international conference included Jackie Borg, Grace Cleland, Katelin Cramer, Jessica Fallis, Maura Green, Anna Harrison, William Horne, Alexa Igram, Lars Joergens-Kokate, Bailey Krukowski, Heather Marra, Christina Medici, Scott Randall, Amanda Schlicht, Jade Schramm, Caitlin Wright, Elizabeth Yeomans, Emily Zeliasko, Claire Hurford and Nicole Elzerman.
Congratulations to DECA on another great year of competition.