The DECA team recently competed in their State competition against other Florida schools on February 29th. 29 members from the school’s DECA organization arrived in Orlando, Florida, to compete. DECA is a club for students who want to expand their knowledge in marketing businesses and entrepreneurships fields.

The school’s team did great, with junior Braden Ranieri winning 7th and junior Mackenzie Maniscalco winning 6th in the same category. Then, junior Riley Floyd, senior Nicholas Pappalardo and junior Gianna Weingard all placed second in State for their franchise business plan. Sophomores Sarah Soberon and Anabella Thornberry placed 6th in the state for business solutions. Sophomores Claire O’Connor and Isabella Dreyfuss took home the glass with their 5th place win in community awareness!

Now let’s see how some of the members feel about how states went. DECA president Pappalardo says “I feel that states went very well for us this year. Considering we are a small chapter, we had an exceptional amount of ICDC qualifiers. My group personally did very well with second in the state. With this being my last year, I couldn’t be more proud of my group and the state team.”

DECA advisor Ms. Moore stated, “The DECA state team made us all proud. We took 29 students to the Florida Career Development Conference (states) to compete and represent our CSCS DECA chapter. They were professional, respectful, and fun. Nine students made it to the stage and earned an invitation to compete at the International Career Development Conference in California, including the group of Nicholas Pappalardo, Riley Floyd, and Gianna Weingard, who placed second for their Franchise plan. Our team included returning state competitors as well as younger new members. Their performance bodes well for the future of CSCS DECA.”

“At DECA states, I had a great time with everyone,” said Dreyfuss. “I think we all did really well considering our group was so small. My partner Claire and I had turned in a community awareness project and we were so excited that we had qualified. I was so proud of us for getting 5th place in the state, especially because this was my first year being part of DECA. I hope we can go back next year!”