Rhinelander Students Compete at DECA State

Kate Ripple, 2nd Business Law.
(Contributed photograph)

From Feb. 24-26, 15 Rhinelander High School students competed at the Wisconsin DECA State Career Development Conference in Lake Geneva. DECA is an organization that helps prepare students for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. DECA has events from Finance and Banking Systems to Sports and Entertainment Marketing and includes both team and individual events. At State, students had to take a 100-question test concerning the field their event is in, as well as an economics test. They also performed two role plays in which the student is given a business situation and must act it out to resolve the issue with a judge. Medals are awarded to students for earning high scores in their tests, on either of their role plays, and for placing in the top ten of their event. 

Six Rhinelander students qualified to participate at the DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC), which is to be held in Orlando, Fla. in late April. Brody Kowieski took first place in Personal Financial Literacy and received medals for his series test, role play, and economics test. Also, Payton McCue took third place in Accounting and medaled in his test and a role play. Kate Ripple, Skylar Cleveland, Barak Rappley, and Clara Pudlowski were accepted to the THRIVE Academy at ICDC as well. In addition, three students were recognized on stage for their performances in the tests and role plays; Luna Grage and Evi Sawyer for their performance in both their role plays, and Kate Ripple for her performance in the economics test. All 50 states and several countries including: Canada, Mexico, Germany, China, and Spain will be represented at ICDC.

Rhinelander DECA was also recognized for their accomplishments as a chapter this year. First, they received recognition for their Community Service Campaign which included Acts of Kindness, General Contributions to Charity, 100 Hours, MDA, Color a Smile, and Trick or Can. Secondly, they were recognized for the Thrive Level Chapter Membership Campaign, Thrive Level Chapter Campaign, and Wisconsin Gold Chapter. 

Overall Rhinelander DECA had a very successful State conference and hopes to continue their involvement in the community for years to come. Chapter advisor Mischell Fryar was very impressed by the hard work of all of the competitors, many of which were competing at the state level for the first time. If you have any questions or would like to make a donation to assist with travel expenses for ICDC, please contact Mischell Fryar at 715-365-9500 or [email protected].