On January 7th, the regional round of DECA took place at the DoubleTree Hotel on Route 70. DECA is a high school club that helps students prepare for careers in business fields like marketing, finance, and management. Students participate in competitions, and leadership activities, and learn valuable skills for their future careers, competing against other schools. DECA offers over 50 different competitions across various categories. There are four main groups to pick from Business Management and & Administration, Marketing, Finance, and Hospitality & Tourism.

 You can do these events individually or as a team.  The participant or team will do role-playing scenarios, written exams, and presentations. All students who wish to participate in DECA compete at regionals and will be given a score based on how they perform at their event. The students or teams who score the most points get invited to compete at the state event in Atlantic City against top performers from other regional competitions.

“Our goal is to at least make it to the final round at states this year and would love to go to ICDC in the future,” said Sophomore Jessie Atlas (‘25).  ICDC stands for International Career Development Conference and refers to the DECA competition at the national level.

The top-scoring students from states get invited to the national competition which will be held in Orlando this year.  International students and teams are also invited to compete at nationals, after going through competitions in their home countries. 

In order to participate in DECA you must take a business class at school. Most East students start with Introduction to Business and then will move up to one of the many higher-level business classes like Marketing Ed. or Advanced Marketing.

“Competing in DECA has been a fun experience so far. Being able to compete…with friends and use the skills and knowledge that I’ve been able to build in my business class has been fun, finally being able to use them competitively… Advancing to the state competition is an awesome achievement and I am looking forward to the three-day trip to have fun with my friends and hopefully keep up the winning,” said sophomore Posie Radetich (‘27), a DECA competitor advancing to states. 

This year, 325 students from Cherry Hill East took place in DECA. Among them, 119 students are advancing to the state competition. The state competition will take place over a three-day span – March 4th – 6th, in Atlantic City.

“Being in DECA isn’t just about competing, it’s about learning, being a leader, and building a future that we will be proud of, ” said senior Dylan Scholnick (’25).