Rhinelander DECA members compete in Anaheim

Eight Rhinelander High School DECA members traveled to Anaheim, Calif. late last month to compete at the DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC).  From April 25 - May 1, the students competed, explored, and connected with other DECA members from across the country and world, according to a school district press release.

Roughly 23,000 high schoolers from all 50 states and 12 countries like Canada, Guam, South Korea, and the U.S. Territories were represented.

There were two methods students could qualify to get to Anaheim; four DECA members placed in the top six of their event at state, while four more members were accepted to the Emerging Leaders Academies. Either way, all those who attended gained fantastic experience for future endeavors as they become more involved with the chapter or head to college, the release said.

 The team of Cassie Burke, Payton McCue, and Alyssa Smits placed 5th in the Community Service Project event at state to reach ICDC and Kate Ripple placed 4th at state in the Business Finance Event.  Claire Caselton, Tyler Chariton, Lucas Haselton, and Tori Riopel were accepted to the Thrive Academy, a leadership academy focused on improving critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation. Although no one from Rhinelander was able to reach finals as individuals, the students did have the opportunity to do more than compete and network. Universal Studios hosted a DECA night, where the park was closed to the public and open to only DECA members, and the students had an evening at Disneyland and California Adventures. It was a busy six days, but those who went will remember the experience for a lifetime, according to the release.

Advisor Ms. Fryar traveled with the students and was proud of the fact that the members put in a lot of work to compete and represented Rhinelander extremely well.