Students in the DECA program at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School gathered in the bus loop at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 25 to board a bus to Orlando, where they would be competing in the International Career Development Conference against thousands of other students from all over the world to win glass trophies, commonly known as DECA Glass. They arrived back at school around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30.

Around 50 students from MSD attended the competition, and all were some of the top winners at the Florida Career Development Conference, which was held earlier this year in Orlando. They participated in a variety of business-centered categories and could either complete a presentation or a roleplay.

After arriving at the new Universal Resort, Terra Luna, the students were given their hotel cards and shown to their rooms. The following day, the students enjoyed a day at Disney Parks before returning to the hotel to eat pizza and get ready for the opening session at the Orange County Convention Center, which was also where the competition and award ceremony were held.

The opening ceremony consisted of speeches from the DECA executive officer team and presentations of the flags of all of the states and countries competing, among other things. The next day, students who chose to compete in roleplays had to attend a testing session, where they were given a 100-question test. Students who chose to compete in presentations did not test but stood in front of a judge instead and presented their topic of choice. Later that evening, the students went to Top Golf.

“Before taking my test, I was extremely nervous,” freshman Jeena Prasad said. “But because of the friends I made while being seated down, it eased my nerves.”

On Monday, April 28, the students who had previously tested completed their roleplays. Once everyone had finished their respective competitions, the school went to Universal Parks for “DECA Night,” in which the park was closed off to all non-DECA members.

On Tuesday morning, MSD attended the mini awards session, where they found out who would become a finalist and move on to the last round of competition. Only the top 20 people or teams from each category could move on as a finalist.

Two teams from MSD made it to the final round. The first was composed of juniors Shrutika Bandiathmakur, Manpreet Chhabra and Alexander Freedman, who ran the Vision to Venture project. The second was composed of senior Elle Naqvi and juniors Brian Listopad and Miles Sacks, who ran the Fun 4 Funds project. Both teams competed again that afternoon, while the rest of the students relaxed at the hotel or explored Universal’s Citywalk.

That evening, the students ate dinner together at Margaritaville in Universal’s Citywalk. Then, they went back to the Orange County Convention Center for the grand awards session. During the session, only the top 10 finalists were announced. Both teams from MSD made it into the top 10, receiving medals.

“At mini awards, I was definitely surprised and excited, but I didn’t fully process what had happened because my team and I had to immediately check in and figure out our next presentation time,” Bandiathmakur said. “As for the grand awards, I was completely shocked. I felt confident about our presentation, but I was genuinely surprised when we heard our names called.”

MSD’s DECA program showed off their business skills as they competed this year, achieving the status of top 10 in the world for two categories. The students in the program look forward to competing again next year, striving to become winners once again.