The Independence High School (IHS) branch of Distributive Education of America (DECA), led by Jonathon Chiles, has 10 teams that qualified for the state competition this year. One team in particular consists of seniors Meghana Anam, Aleena Khurram, and Medha Kommula. 

“This team is led by two officers that have competed in multiple DECA competitions,” he said. “They have taken constructive criticism of their judges and myself to make their plan better at each step.”

Chiles explains what he hopes to see from them and other Independence DECA students at the state competition the week of Feb. 27.

“All of the individuals have worked hard to make it to the state competition,” he said. “I want the members to have fun, meet new people, and compete to the best of their abilities. I hope to see all 35 members continue on to our international competition in Atlanta in late April.”

Anam, who has been a part of DECA since her sophomore year, talks about how her team is working and improving in order to ensure the best possible results at the state competition. 

“My team and I are currently brushing up on our presentation skills before we head to the competition in Houston,” she said.

Anam is competing in the Project Management Community Giving event.

 “We have to create a fundraising project and plan donations for an important societal cause. The two parts to this event are the written plan and the presentation. The presentation requires a live pitch of our fundraiser and its benefits, so we are currently fixing our script and memorizing it for next week so that we can look professional and polished before our judge.”

Anam explained what information her team learned after the district competition and how they used that to improve their competition plan. 

“Our team decided to improve our plan by not only implementing suggestions from the judge, but also creating more visual imagery to entice the reader,” she said.

Chiles talks about the importance of DECA for students and the influence it has on them and their future. 

“DECA members are held to a higher standard and we help every member grow as individuals,” he said. DECA encourages members to have a strong character, work ethic, and creative entrepreneurial spirit. I believe that the members of DECA will be great business leaders and have the skills to succeed in anything that they wish to.”

DECA is an international non-profit organization that aims to educate students about entrepreneurship, marketing, and business management, as well as provide them with leadership qualities.To learn more about the club, go to IHSDeca.