During the week of April 21 to April 26, fourteen students from Middleton High School’s (MHS) DECA club competed in the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Orlando, Florida. Robert Hutchinson, MHS marketing teacher and club advisor, led the team to excel in their events, with Jackson Rademacher earning a medal on the Accounting Applications exam and Varsha Gouraram placing as a top ten finalist in Apparel and Accessories. 

DECA, short for Distributive Education Clubs of America, is a nation-wide association of marketing students that hosts academic conferences with the aim of fostering important business and leadership skills. Middleton DECA students competed at regionals before moving onto the Wisconsin state conference to qualify for internationals. 

Hutchinson, who has advised the club for the past 22 years, helps students to prepare for conferences through a platform called “Competition University,” consisting of both role-play and exam elements. Gouraram and Rademacher, both in their fourth year of DECA competition, prepared for the conferences by taking practice tests. Gouraram also reviewed past role-play score sheets to improve on her performance. She reflected that this preparation has helped refine her communication skills and develop an appreciation for business. 

“As cheesy as it is, the more work you put into preparation, the more you get out of competition,” Gouraram said. 

Preparation has been a focus for DECA students in the time leading up to ICDC, which over 22,000 students, advisors, business professionals and alumni attended. MHS students had access to many networking opportunities that were offered, from associations, colleges and companies to charities, giving students the chance to explore post-secondary options. For Rademacher, his experience with DECA helped him to plan his college studies in finance. 

Between attending various workshops and competing in their respective events, students at ICDC were also able to spend time at Orlando’s theme parks. Hutchinson recalled enjoying activities at both Magic Kingdom and Universal Studios, and said that his favorite part of the trip was the chapter dinner at Rainforest Cafe located in Disney Springs. It was also rewarding to see students working hard and earning accolades at regional, state and national levels, Hutchinson said. 

Rademacher concluded that this year’s ICDC was a great end to his DECA career. 

“If I had to give some advice to students interested in joining DECA, I would definitely say go for it,” Rademacher said. “I wasn’t fully sold on DECA when I joined, but it turned into one of my best high school experiences.” 

Gouraram added, “DECA can feel scary at first, but the more you practice the better you will get!” 

To learn more about DECA, visit the DECA website.  Students can also talk to Mr. Hutchinson or follow @middleton.deca on Instagram.