Lake Orion High School DECA found success at the state competition on March 16-18. The event was held at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn.
According to DECA advisor and marketing teacher Julia Dalrymple, the students who competed at the state level had to first qualify at the district competition that was held in January. Over 700 students attended this event to compete against each other in categories such as sports and entertainment marketing, retail marketing and hospitality marketing, among others.
At this competition, Dalrymple said, participants took a 50 question general marketing test, a 100 question specific occupational area test and then participate in a role play. These are like a case study that is acted out and solved with an industry professional judge.
‘We are so proud of every student that attended,? said Dalrymple. ‘They worked extremely hard to get to the state competition.’It is an honor to get to that level.?
‘Our students are the best in every aspect; they are professional, respectful, and fun working with,? she added.
Twelve individuals walked away with high honors. Ryan Edwards, Nicole Elliston, Kyle Hagan, Matt Hood, Scott Johnson, Kevin Latshaw and Tory Petrovic were top 10 in the state in their respective categories. Edwards, Elliston, Hagan and Hood, along with Travis Malstrom and Dave Wurst, were also role play winners in their categories.
Three individuals qualified as Gold Merit Award winners, and will be attending the International Career Development Conference held in Orlando, Fla. Danielle Lawrence, Chelsea Siver and Emily Rymarczyk will be competing against 13,000 other students from around the country at the conference that will be held in April.
Rymarczyk is looking forward to attending the conference with her teammates and feels that all of her hard work paid off.
‘I’m very excited for the conference in Florida,? Rymarczyk said. ‘At States I had no idea what was going on with my event and it made me really nervous. Now that I know what I’m presenting, I feel a lot more comfortable and I feel I’ll do good at Internationals.?
Lake Orion’s success continued as Hagan was also elected as the 2007-2008 District 6 Representative. In order to do this, he had to campaign for a 2/3 vote and make a speech to more than 2,500 high school students.
‘He will serve on the DECA state officer team traveling throughout the state and country representing LOHS and Oakland County,? Dalrymple said.
According to Dalrymple, Hagan will be given in-depth leadership and public speaking training.
‘This will be a’life altering experience for him and we are very proud of him for taking on the role,? she said.
‘It is an honor for LOHS to have such a talented student be out in the state representing Lake Orion and Michigan DECA,? Dalrymple added.