Warrior Word

by Isabella Gregory, Jasmine Abouelsaad, and Alina Sharkaway

DECA, our biggest and most popular club at Edmonds Woodway, has nearly 80+ members, and is still continuing to grow. If you are interested in business and marketing, then DECA is the best club out there for you. DECA helps give people who aspire to major in business management, marketing, and entrepreneurship great experience and some of the most important skills required for these related careers. DECA competitions involve joining one of these specific career clusters: marketing, business management and administration, finance, hospitality, or tourism. Then, there are three main types of events: role-play, where participants present on-the-spot solutions to case studies, written events, involving long-term projects and presentations, or online simulations, such as the stock market. Participants then advance from district to state, and eventually, even the international level. No matter which one you choose, DECA is one of the best clubs anyone planning to major in anything related to business or marketing can join during their high school career.

Before making it into the DECA classroom, located in Mr. Simon’s classroom, we could hear the rap music coming inside blasting from inside. The first thing that stood out to us, upon walking into the classroom, was the insane amount of people in there. The classroom was quite literally overflowing with members, with some people standing, some sitting on the chairs, and some even sitting on top of the desks. Overall, there was an immediate and clear good vibe to the club, with a strong sense of community. Once the clock hit 2:00 pm, however, the club instantly got to work. 

The two DECA presidents, Darcy Brennan and Zoey Glaros, made their way to the front of the class and started the meeting. Both Darcy and Zoey, along with other members of the DECA leadership team, took turns going over information about the competitions, such as the different career clusters, how to sign up, due dates, and more. Their team clearly covered an immense amount of important information in the span of just 20 minutes or so. There was also time at the end where members were free to ask any questions they might’ve had, with all of the leadership team making sure the questions were fully answered before moving on to the next question. Lastly, snacks were brought out for any members who wanted, and then the meeting was dismissed. Overall, what caught our attention was the way that the club was both very chill and comfortable, while also being serious and important at the same time. The hype music blasting before the meeting started, people sitting on and around the desks, and standing right by Mr. Simon’s, to the very efficient, helpful, and clear slideshow presented right at the meeting’s start, where they got straight to the point and answered any needed questions, are all examples of how Edmonds-Woodway DECA is a very lively organization.

We then interviewed the DECA presidents, Zoey and Darcy, and the DECA advisor, Mr. Simon. The presidents said that their favorite thing about the club was gaining real-world experience in the business practice, getting to know other people at schools, and learning tips from various people. Mr. Simon said, “I enjoy watching all the students who are all really interested and getting to watch them succeed; it’s very exciting.” Zoey said, “DECA is a super fun and great way to get more involved in business, meet new people, and make new friends.” Both Mr. Simon and the presidents of the clubs described that what separates DECA from other clubs is the fact that it removes the idea that all clubs are boring and just informational. DECA goes beyond this, and has a bigger community. Darcy and Zoey said that their favorite memories from Deca are going to Wendy’s and spending the night at the state competition with all their friends. Another favorite memory of theirs was when they made state last year, and all their friends were really happy for them, and getting to see that all of their hard work paid off. Mr. Simon said, “DECA is all about real-world business experiences and competitions that judge you based on your ability to speak off of your feet and win awards. It’s the largest business club in the US, and the goal is to provide a platform for young business people to start experiencing what it’s like in the real marketing world. It’s a great way to get introduced into the real world and get tested on your abilities.”

To sum it all up, DECA is definitely the best club at Edmonds Woodway for anyone interested in business and marketing. The club does a fantastic job of providing both a fun community and a serious learning environment simultaneously. This balance is seen everywhere in DECA — from the fun energy before the meeting, to the clear, efficient presentations that follow. The experiences, from simply connecting with classmates, to getting to compete in, and potentially win competitions provide key life skills and great memories, as the student presidents, Darcy Brennan and Zoey Glaros, and Mr. Simon shared. Ultimately, DECA is without a doubt, a welcoming and challenging platform that perfectly prepares students for success in the business world after high school.