Students from West Islip High School, along with chapter adviser Diana Saadat and mathematics teacher Tara Annunziata, recently attended the annual New York State DECA Career Conference in Rochester.
The West Islip DECA chapter was joined by more 2,500 other students with one common interest: to represent their school and take home a medal showing their dedication and knowledge of business.
The conference highlighted several DECA goals which were instituted throughout the conference: civic consciousness, social intelligence, leadership development and vocational understanding. West Islip participants included: Joseph Pace, business service marketing; Braden Pritchard, entrepreneurship series; Colleen Rafferty, principles of finance; Skylar Zimmerly, retail merchandising; Caden Benedik and Christian Kay, sports and entertainment marketing team decision making; Rachel Crumlich and Kelsey McCabe, business law and ethics team decision making; and Rylie Crumlich and Emily Garabrant, business law and ethics team decision making. Kelsey McCabe was awarded top 10 for her test.
President Rylie Crumlich said, “It was an amazing experience that I was able to share alongside my close friends and teachers and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to attend.” Chapter adviser Ms. Saadat added, “We may not have brought home as many medals as we would have hoped but this is the first time any of these students have participated on the state level and it was really great to be back. I’m always extremely proud of all the students. It’s not only their hard work and dedication, but also the professional conduct they demonstrated at the conference.”
DECA is a co-curricular, student-centered organization with the purpose of providing learning opportunities to marketing education students through goal-oriented chapter activities. This was a record-breaking year for the participants competing in the state competition. Participation in these activities serves to develop greater understanding and appreciation of marketing, management and entrepreneurship.
Date Added: 4/17/2023