Students enrolled in Advanced Marketing can now participate in the business-minded organization Distributive Education Clubs of America, or DECA. DECA involves  competitions with categories such as Retail Merchandising and Financial Consulting.

The team has participated in two competitions so far, at Blue Valley Northwest and Blue Valley West, each with over 400 students participating. In April, DECA will go to the state competition. If they place in the top three spots, they will qualify for the Disney-sponsored nationals in Orlando at the end of April.

The competition works like this:  students in each category are given 10 minutes to compete as an individual or 20 minutes as a team. The competition involves solving a problem in a business scenario.  They then receive a role-play score from the judge based on performance indicators. This is combined with the results of a 100-question test score that they will also have to take to make up their overall score.

Advanced Marketing teacher Dianna Heffernon said that Mill Valley has similar clubs to DECA available.

“A more simplified comparison would be to Forensics class,” Heffernon said. “Instead of acting [the situations] are all business scenarios.”

The class offers many avenues for students to learn and further their knowledge of the business world.

Senior Callahan Eckardt uses DECA as a way to further enjoy his Advanced Marketing class.

“You are learning more about different markets and what type of business finance you want to do,” Eckardt said. “It’s a learning tool and a way to compete and have fun within a school setting.”

Senior Bailey Weeks, who participates in business competitions, said DECA will assist him in his future career.

“The class gives you real life situations that will help you so you do not fail,” Weeks said.

Senior Ellen Merrill also said participating in events such as Retail Merchandising will help her in the future.

“I used to work in a retail store so I thought I would have some background knowledge,” Merrill said. “It also has shown me what a future in that field might look like and it gives us real life professional experience.”

Eckardt also wants to use this newfound knowledge in future marketing careers.

“[One benefit of DECA] is learning from other people’s mistakes,” Eckardt said. “All of the issues [DECA] presents to you are real situations in the business world. Also, I want to use it as a learning tool just to understand as much as I can for further down the road.”

Heffernon is hopeful and looks forward to the future of DECA.

“We have medaled at both of the competitions and gotten ribbons at both of the competitions,” Heffernon said. “People are watching Mill Valley now. We’re coming up from behind and [people] are paying attention.”