U-46 students excel at statewide career development competition

Twelve students from the Streamwood and South Elgin high school chapters of a career development program recently ranked as among the top in their fields at a state competition for those interested in marketing, hospitality, finance and management.

Five of those students will move on to compete later this month in an international conference in California.

The students are members of Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA), an international association of high school and college students. Along with preparation within professional industries, it is designed to develop leadership and life skills important to student development.

"DECA serves to prepare students for both college and career," said Dr. Terri Lozier, assistant superintendent of secondary education. "It is exactly the type of real-life opportunity that motivates students and helps them envision an exciting future."

Streamwood High School students Jeriann Gumila, Mona Cadena, Jordan Ramirez, Matt Hoeffleur and Lukas Woerner will move on to compete against about 18,000 of their peers at the International Career Development Conference Wednesday, April 26 through Saturday, April 29 in Anaheim, California.

Woerner, vice president of Streamwood's DECA chapter, believes that the past four years have helped shape him personally and professionally.

"DECA allows me to use in-class knowledge in a competitive environment," Woerner said. "The conferences are truly what makes DECA a fun and memorable organization."

Regionally, the DECA State Competition is known as the Illinois Career Development Conference. During the competition, students take career cluster tests, act out professional scenarios, write business manuals and create promotional plans.

This year, more than 1,200 students participated at the conference in Rosemont.

"It is so wonderful to see the students grow and make a difference in our community," said South Elgin High School business teacher and adviser Lisa Brown. "They are the future of this country."

The U-46 board honored the state winners and national finalists April 10 during the board meeting. To learn more about the DECA programming at the high school level, visit deca.org/high-school-programs.