DECA, the Distributive Education Clubs of America, had their biggest meeting of the year, the State Career Development Conference, located in Anaheim on Feb. 28 through March 3.
Many students at Thousand Oaks High School will be attending this conference over the weekend to learn skills applicable to jobs in the future.
Grade school memberships into the DECA program are available to all high schoolers, grades nine through twelve. Membership cost $8 per person.
Participating in DECA allows students to communicate efficiently between their peers and be able to open job opportunities after high school.
DECA meetings, like the one set for this weekend, allows students to connect with industry professionals to learn more about business and different positions in the marketing industry.
DECA is an organization focused on teaching high school and college students business related activities.
Ryan Thompson and Sobrina Chase, ETHoS teachers at Thousand Oaks High School, are advisors for the DECA team here at school.
“We travel and compete against other schools in various business competitions from every business sector,” Thompson said.
Over 70 years since it started, DECA has had over ten million members, and is split into two divisions: the High School Division, which includes 200,000 members spanning 3,500 schools, and Collegiate Division, including over 15,000 members from 275 colleges and universities across America.
All the students participating in DECA are almost independent when it comes to preparing for their individual competitions.
“Myself and Mrs. Chase are advisors, but the students do the work,” Thompson said.
Six of the competitive events groups that students can take part in are Business Management and Administration, Finance, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Hospitality and Tourism, and Personal Financial Literacy. Many specific events belong to each one of the groups, from Apparel and Accessories Marketing Series to Independent Business Plans.
If the students of Thousand Oaks High School did exceptionally well, they will be allowed to participate in the International Career Development Conference, which will take place in Florida during April 27-30.
