DECA mentors achievement for BHS business and marketing students

BREWSTER – The DECA marketing club, a new program making its debut at Brewster High School under the capable stewardship of Marketing and Business instructor Jeff Dowd, is producing some solid results judged by the competitive recognition BHS students are already getting.

Five Brewster students placed among the top six spots in a recent June 10 competition that included more than 200 Area 10 students.

“It is truly impressive how well our BHS students performed in our first year of DECA participation,”

Dowd wrote in an after-action memo about last month’s competition.

The DECA state organization is comprised of 10 areas. “Area 10 is in Central Washington, from the Canadian border to south of Yakima,” said Dowd. “There are 12 schools in Area 10 with DECA Chapters.”

DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in high schools and colleges around the globe for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. One of the BHS competitors, Mareli Arevalo, placed second in Quick Service Restaurant Management and has been invited to the state competition in March. Other BHS winners included Mayra Sepulveda-Santana, Abigail (Abby) Pamatz-Garcia, Madelyn (Maddie) Sandoval-Trejo, and Gustavo Perez-Olmedo. Dowd divides his course work between marketing, business and personal law, and computer programming.

Introduction to marketing explores topics from economics and international business, to new product development, promotion and merchandising. The business and personal law courses run the gamut from contracts and employment and insurance law to criminal and civil law, constitutional law, and court systems. Introduction to programming adapted from the UC Berkeley CS 10 course teaches students the basics of programming principles and helps students discover if an IT career is for them.

The DECA model provides students with the opportunity to participate in comprehensive, industry-validated competitive events where they can earn recognition, qualify for state and international competition, and compete for scholarships while demonstrating their career area knowledge.

For more information online about DECA, please visit here.