The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School DECA chapter attended the annual DECA International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, California from Friday, April 26 to Wednesday, May 1.

In order to qualify for ICDC, MSD DECA members had to place as a finalist in the Florida DECA Career Development Conference, which was held in Orlando earlier this year. Out of the 228 MSD students that attended the Florida CDC, over 80 qualified for ICDC and 73 attended.

Every year, more than 20,000 students, advisors, business professionals and DECA alumni attend ICDC. At the conference, students display their college and career readiness in marketing, finance, entrepreneurship, management and hospitality through roleplays, 10-page papers or 20-page papers.

Leading up to ICDC, after-school practice sessions were held for participating MSD students to seek assistance from DECA advisors and other students while practicing for the competition. Additionally, business partners from the Parkland community came to MSD to help students prepare. Students had the opportunity to compete in front of them and receive feedback.

“I think more than anything, for me as a DECA advisor, the most important thing is building the relationships and the confidence that these students have to go into the future, no matter what career they go into,” DECA advisor Sharon Cutler said.

There are 11 events, each with their own type of competitions. Students from MSD competed in team decision making events, individual series events, business operations research events, project management events, entrepreneurship events, professional selling events, professional selling and consulting events, and online events such as the Stock Market Game.

Four MSD teams made it to the top 20, and two teams made it to the top ten. The teams that made it to the top ten competed in project management and the Stock Market Game.
“We wouldn’t have had the success we did if it wasn’t for advisors,” senior Aneesha Nookala said. “We are really grateful to them for guiding and supporting us throughout the entire journey. We love them and are so glad we are ending our DECA journey with a big win.”
The project management team consisted of Nookala and senior Ananyaa Sutaria. They placed first in the world in their category. Junior Sebastian Bagoon competed in the Stock Market Game, placing fifth in the world.

“It was just amazing to… come out on top and really showed us the value, especially since our project was community service oriented,” Sutaria said. “It showed that, like, we really did have an impact on people’s lives.”

MSD students were able to trade pins provided by Florida DECA with students from other states and countries. Additionally, many businesses held showcases in a business expo near the competition hall.

MSD students were also able to partake in many tourist activities while in Anaheim. On Friday, April 26, they visited the Hollywood Walk of Fame, toured Warner Bros Studios and went to The Grove for dinner. On Saturday, April 27, MSD DECA visited Disney California Adventure before attending ICDC’s opening session where this year’s DECA executive officers were announced and teachers were given awards. On Sunday, April 28, students visited the Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament for dinner. On Monday, April 29, they attended the Los Angeles Angels game.

MSD DECA has an upcoming banquet on Saturday, May 18 to celebrate DECA stole recipients along with the 2023-2024 and incoming 2024-2025 executive boards.