By Thomas Russell, UHS DECA Advisor

31 of 46 Urbana High School DECA members punched their ticket to the Ohio

DECA State Career Development Conference on January 31, 2024. UHS DECA

students competed in their District 4 Competition along with students from

Northmont, Kettering Fairmont, Centerville, Beavercreek, Edgewood, and

Fairborn High Schools.

Students will travel to Columbus on March 8-9 to compete amongst Ohio’s

best DECA students. In order for students to qualify for the competition,

students had to place within the top 3 or top 4 of their events. Events consist

of students taking a 100 question test and delivering a prepared presentation

or solving a case study scenario.

The following students qualified for the Ohio DECA State Career

Development Conference:

First Place

Michael Holland & Kayden Jacobs – Sports & Entertainment Marketing Team

Decision Making

Peyton Mounce & Reyse Wilson – Buying & Merchandising Team Decision

Making

Lyza Forson & Kenadi McKee – Integrated Marketing Campaign – Event

Bryce Stambaugh – Restaurant & Food Service Management Series

Hayden Kelley – Retail Merchandising Series

Second Place

Tate Armstrong & Jaden Hopkins – Marketing Management Team Decision

Making

Will Donahoe & Breyden Webb – Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making

Amyah Green & Bella Talebi – Integrated Marketing Campaign

Carmine Lantz – Automotive Services Marketing Series

Xavier Snyder – Accounting Applications Series

Krish Patel – Entrepreneurship Series

Layne Settle – Business Services Marketing Series

Third Place

Lauren Hoskins – Marketing Communications Series

Aiden Bradshaw – Quick Serve Restaurant Management Series

George Bender – Food Marketing Series

Salomon Severiano – Hotel & Lodging Management Series

Other Qualifiers

Paige Arnett & Stella Johnson – Financial Literacy Project

Lauren Shelpman & Preston Wisma – Community Giving Project

Arianna Souders & Catie Timm – Community Awareness Project

Henry Harrigan & Isaac Johnson – Sales Project

Joe Lightle – Business Growth Plan

Wisma Up For Ohio DECA State Officer Team Election

On February 3, UHS DECA member Preston Wisma participated in the

screening process to become an Ohio DECA State officer. Wisma was given a

50 question test over Ohio DECA history and facts, prepared a 2 minute

speech, conducted an interview, and performed a 1 page cold script read.

Wisma placed amongst the top 10 for the position and will move on to the

next and final round of the process. At the Ohio DECA State CDC on March 8,

Wisma will campaign himself to other Ohio DECA members. This will include

a 3 minute speech to all voting members, a Q&A session, and a 30-minute

campaigning window.

In attempting to do so, Wisma hopes to become the first State Officer for a

CTSO from UHS in years. Ohio DECA State Officers are responsible for leading

Ohio DECA’s 5,000+ members, network with members across the globe, meet

with industry leaders, and advocate for Career and Technical Education in the

state of Ohio