Setting New Records at DECA Regionals

Greenwood’s DECA Chapter competed in the DECA Regionals competition on Saturday, November 18. DECA is a written and oral business case competition where students can compete individually or in pairs. Students demonstrate their proficiency in communication and strategy in a variety of categories which include: marketing; business management and administration; hospitality and tourism; finance; entrepreneurship and personal financial literacy. 

The DECA Chapter has been preparing for the competition since the start of the school year. Our DECA Chapter is led by a group of seven student Executives: Julia Morris ‘24 (Chapter President); Aubrey Campbell ‘24; Jake Grevler ‘24; Matthew Hicks ‘25; Ted Hollend ‘26; Stephanie Georgopoulos ‘26 and Izzy McEvily ‘24. Thank you to our Execs for providing our students the opportunities to practise and flourish at the DECA competition. 

A total of 108 Greenwood students attended the DECA Regional Competition last month, breaking our previous record of 79 students from last year. Twenty-three students scored enough points to qualify for the DECA Provincial competition in February 2024, which also surpasses our previous record set last year. The following students will advance to compete at the provincial level:

For many, this was their first time ever competing at DECA. Diana Borlase ‘26, who competed in the Marketing category and will advance to Provincials, was one of these first-time competitors. “This is definitely not a high-pressure experience,” Diana says. “I barely had any prior business knowledge before competing. I would highly recommend anybody try it out, even if they don’t have experience.” 

There were also students who were veterans to the DECA experience. Izzy McEvily ‘24 has previously competed at DECA. This year, she competed in the Marketing category and will advance to the Provincials. “[DECA] is a really good experience for the real world,” she says. “The competition challenges your thinking on the spot.” Echoing Diana’s sentiments, Izzy adds, “Competitors don’t have to be limited to just business students – it’s great practice for anyone to work on their public speaking skills.” 

Rhys Lehberg ‘24 had previously competed in a partner competition last year. This year, he competed in the Hospitality category as an individual. “It was definitely an interesting topic,” he says. “For me, I like speaking and liked the opportunity to apply what I learned in business class to a real world case.” 

Good luck to our competitors who have advanced to the DECA Provincials!