North High students involved in DECA, an organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management, competed with 700 students in the region during the sectional competition St. Charles Jan. 27. A record number of students placed in the top ten in their events and will advance to the state competition to in Decatur in March. Sixteen students heading to state include: Adam Brayn, Tyler Dibble, Brendan Johnson, Murtaza Kapasi, Christian Klemp, Praveen Kopparapu, Mariya Kovalchuk, Brian Lemke, Elizabeth Meier, Suzana Petkova,  Cloe Pooler, Aaron Pryor, Xavier Schneider, Paige Schober, Olivia Snell and Braden Woods.

DECA competitions include timed decision-making challenges, including individual and team events. For example, a small group may be given a product to market and the students must develop a promotional plan and make a presentation to judges. 

“DECA is a unique organization in that it allows students to take the business and marketing concepts we teach in the classroom, and apply them to real-world situations,” says DECA sponsor and business teacher Jan Jacobson. “During the competitions, our students demonstrated a high level of knowledge that will benefit them in their future careers.”