DECA’s ICDC Run — Charger Press

Audrey Davies

From April 21-26, Hamilton DECA competed at the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Orlando, FL. This year, Hamilton brought 32 students, which is record-breaking for Hamilton DECA. ICDC is the third and final competition in the series of DECA competitions. Students who were brought had to make it past the district competition and place at the State Career Development Contest in the top 7. Along with those who placed, additional students were brought to participate in workshops relating to our School-Based Enterprise (SBE), which is the school store, and others to attend leadership seminars. These additional opportunities had to be earned by receiving special recognition from DECA, Inc such as being a gold-certified school-based enterprise and completing chapter campaigns.

The trip started off very early. Students arrived at Mitchell International Airport at 4am on Friday morning. Friday afternoon, Hamilton checked into their hotel (Hilton Buena Vista) and spent the day exploring Disney Springs. It was filled with lots of shopping, food, and fun!

Saturday was spent at Universal Studios and Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Students were able to explore the parks with their friends, enjoying rides, food, and walking around. For junior Sean Roubik, this experience was extra fun, as he said his favorite thing was, “Going on my first roller coaster.” Saturday evening, Hamilton attended the opening session at the Orange County Convention Center which included listening to DECA leaders speak and watching a song and dance group from Michigan who were featured on the popular show “America’s Got Talent”.

Sunday was the first day of competition. The day varied based on what students participated in. Some students attended different leadership academies. Those competing in projects presented their paper to judges and those in individual or team series events took their test. One student who presented a project says, “I will always remember the anticipation I felt before presenting my project for the final time.” There was some flexible time in the afternoon and evening due to each student having different event schedules.

On Monday, students doing individual or team categories did either one or two roleplays with a judge depending on their category. Roleplays are a real life business scenario that the student has to prepare for and then present to a judge on the spot. These scenarios could be anything from helping a college student improve their credit score to giving ideas to a company to increase their clientele. After students were done competing, students had the option to go to Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios until the parks closed. Freshman Aanya Ranasaria says, “My favorite thing was standing in the pouring rain for 20 minutes to watch the Magic Kingdom Castle Light Show. Also, we rode the new ride Tron immediately after and it was so much fun.”

Awards were held on Tuesday. The first set of awards was in the morning where competitors earned medals and finalists (top 20) were named. From Hamilton, Elise Elkin medaled for her first roleplay in Hotel and Lodging Management, Sparsh Pandey medaled for his test in Buying and Merchandising, Rishi Kothinti medaled for his roleplay in Retail Merchandising, and Olivia George medaled for her roleplay in Retail Merchandising. Hamilton also had 4 finalists: Rohit Washikar in Apparel and Accessories Marketing, Aanya Ranasaria in Principles of Hospitality, Rishi Kothinti in Retail Merchandising, and Olivia George in Retail Merchandising. Immediately after being named finalists, competitors went to receive an additional competition time. They had to complete a final roleplay at that time before awards that evening to determine the top three for each category. At the final awards ceremony, Rishi Kothinti placed second place in the entire world for Retail Merchandising. Senior Zach Mattes says he will always remember “Running towards the stage to celebrate Rishi winning.”

After a successful trip, Hamilton headed home on an early flight. After a quick layover in Nashville, students landed in Milwaukee and were picked up by their parents.

ICDC was enjoyed by all who attended. If you are interested in going to ICDC next year, which will be in Anaheim, California, be sure to join DECA and work hard to qualify. If you have any questions about joining DECA, email advisor Amanda Fields (fielam@hamilton.k12.wi.us).

Senior Srikar Kalapala has some advice to those who want to qualify in the future: “Make sure to ask Fields about all the opportunities you have to qualify. Although roleplay events are the most popular, there are so many different ways to qualify. For example, there are various projects that are available that members can do, so if a topic interests you, don't shy away from it. Furthermore, there are simulations you can compete in to qualify for ICDC, like Virtual Business or the Stock Market Game. Exploring all of these possibilities will increase your chance of qualifying for ICDC!”