By Kathy Huynh | December 2nd, 2023
DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) is an educational organization targeted towards future business leaders and entrepreneurs. It has a chapter at The Woodlands School, intended to help members improve various entrepreneurial skills.
To find out more about what prospective members should know about DECA, Olivia Socol - DECA’s Vice-President of Public Relations - was interviewed.
The Woodstock (W): What is your favourite thing in DECA?
Olivia: My favourite part would be building presentation skills. It was new at the very beginning because of the aspect of having to create a business solution quickly. But as I put in time to review concepts and prepare myself, I quickly saw that you get so much out of the experience and the benefits outweigh any doubts at the beginning of the journey.
W: Is the workload heavy?
Olivia: You get out of DECA what you put into it, so it depends on the person and what they are looking to get out of it. If you want to do your best for regionals, my advice would be to attend the weekly meetings since directors go over very helpful concepts that will help you prepare for the competitions, and to take advantage of the resources Woodlands DECA provides. Like the personal seminars with executives and directors, practice multiple choice exams, Quizlets, and more.
W: What DECA events can members keep an eye out for? Are there any costs to attend these events?
Olivia: DECA has a lot of events throughout the year. We have holiday and end-of-year parties. These events are completely free of cost! Food and snacks are provided for these events as well. We also host fundraising, like our annual holiday drive where all donated items are given to our local community. Woodlands DECA is really supportive of its members and helps all their members be successful at competitions. Events DECA hosts to help students prepare are in-school roleplay sessions, practice multiple choice exams, and personal one-on-one executive and director seminars.
W: Anything else interested students should know?
Olivia: DECA is an amazing way to build up your skills for any career pathway you follow in the future! From DECA, students build up their communication, presentation, and leadership, helping them in so many areas of their lives such as doing better at interviews, presentations and so much more. It also helps you with your confidence - in school and outside.
W: How do DECA meetings work?
Olivia: Woodlands DECA has weekly meetings on Tuesdays after school, where directors and executives prepare event specific lessons and teach concepts in an interactive way. During weekly meetings, we host general announcements to let members know about important dates, upcoming events, and competition prep for the future. We also host lessons where all DECA members write a practice multiple choice and a practice roleplay for competition preparation!
W: How do DECA competitions work?
Olivia: There are two parts for regionals, provincials and international. The first part is a 100-question multiple choice exam that lasts 70 minutes. The second part is a roleplay. You are presented with a case scenario, and depending on if you're competing individually or as a team, you have 10 minutes to prepare your roleplay as an individual and 30 minutes as a team (two people).
DECA is popular for a reason. If you like critical thinking and public speaking, DECA might just be the club for you!
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