The beginning of a new calendar year also means the beginning of a new DECA year.

On Wednesday, January 3, 2018, the members of Park Ridge High School’s DECA chapter competed in DECA’s Northern Regional Conference, hosted at Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey. The focused members of the business club departed from school around ten in the morning and returned at approximately three thirty in the afternoon.

Since September, DECA members have been working hard to perfect their public speaking skills and their knowledge of various business topics and ideas. All members were eager to be a part of this year’s regional competition.

All agreed that practicing each Friday in Mrs. Chestnutt’s business classes and before school helped quite a bit. When it came time to present, each student was well-prepared. Throughout the day, the students competing in solo events participated in two role plays, while teams collaborated on one.

The day of competition was not meant to be nerve wracking for the members, but rather a chance to meet students from other Bergen County schools and spend time with friends from Park Ridge as well. DECA gives students a chance to test their business and public speaking skills in a real life situation, and can be fun when creating outside-of-the-box presentations.

The next step in the process is the state competition, which is a three-day competition at the end of February that takes place down the shore. If, a member scores high enough at the regional competition, they are eligible to move on to the State competition, hosted in Atlantic City. Park Ridge had twenty-five qualifying members of the sixty-two students that participated at regionals.

There were also many members who placed highly in their individual role-play. Grace Wagner, Serena Nappa, and Anthony Battaglia all came in first place in their respective role plays. Emma Spies placed second while Andrew Rosen, Shannon Burns, and Venkat Abbaraju placed third in their presentations.

Congratulations to all DECA members for their hard work and commitment so far in 2018!