King Philip DECA Chapters Sends 100 Students to State Career Development Conference

52 Competitors Qualify for International Conference

WRENTHAM — Superintendent Paul Zinni and King Philip DECA Marketing Coordinator James Dow are pleased to share that the King Philip DECA chapter attended the State Career Development Conference in Boston last month.

From Thursday, Feb. 27 through Saturday, Feb. 29, 100 members from the King Philip High School DECA chapter attended the State Career Development Conference at the Sheraton Hotel and Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

King Philip DECA members joined over 3,400 students, advisers and business professionals in attending the conference and competed in over 50 categories of marketing, hospitality, finance and entrepreneurship topics.

At the conference, 52 King Philip DECA members qualified for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Nashville, Tennessee this April. King Philip had 11 students place in first, four students place in second, eight students place in third, 12 students place in fourth, 11 students place in fifth and two students place in sixth. There were an additional 15 King Philip finalists.

First-place winners:

• Senior Jack Hastry, senior Eric Anderson and senior Owen Conlon in Finance Operations Research
• Sophomore Grace Clyde in Business Solutions 
• Senior Sarah Natan and senior Katie Welch in Community Awareness
• Junior Ajae Olsen and junior Ryan Boucher in Career Development
• Junior Mitchell Pearson and junior Dan Dumais in International Business Plan
• Senior Ryan Lacy in Integrated Marketing Campaign Event

Second-place winners:

• Junior Russell Kitsis in Buying and Merchandising Operations Research
• Senior Jill Freeley in Start-Up Business Plan
• Sophomore Samantha Asprelli and sophomore Isabella Fraone in Integrated Marketing Campaign Service

Third-place winners:

• Senior Madyson Salvatore and senior Miranda Matheson in Sports and Entertainment Operations Research
• Junior Sara Sylvestre in Community Giving
• Senior Nathan Farkash and senior Michael Norberg in Business Growth Plan
• Sophomore Sophia Colbert-O’Connor, sophomore Sarah Lehan-Allen and sophomore Makayla Hickey in Franchise Business Plan
• Senior Abby Simmons and senior Courtney Ali in School Based Enterprise (Gold Re-certification)

Fourth-place winner:

• Junior Justin Yatsuhashi, junior Cole Breen and junior Mitch Breen in Business Services Operations Research
• Junior Aly Wood and junior Courtney Keswick in Buying and Merchandising Operations Research
• Senior Madison Burr in Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research
• Senior Nick Bush and senior Shea Duffy in Sports and Entertainment Operations Research
• Senior Kiley Sullivan, senior Ally Stanton and senior Ryann Stagg in Career Development
• Senior Stephen Patel in Integrated Marketing Campaign Event
• Senior Braedyn Moore in Integrated Marketing Campaign Service

Fifth-place winners:

• Junior Grayden Lawrence, junior Kira Iantosca and junior Josh Saintilus in  Business Services Operations Research
• Sophomore Peter Dadasis and sophomore Christian Dadasis Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research
• Sophomore Maya Evans and sophomore Rasya Bollu in Financial Literacy
• Senior Nick Dadasis and senior Ramez Saad in Independent Business Plan
• Sophomore Emma Sheehan and sophomore Brooke Stagg in International Business Plan

Sixth-place winners:

• Senior Emily Melanson and senior Hannah Mahoney in Community Giving

Finalists

• Sophomore Emily Barrows and sophomore Mikayla Murphey in Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research
• Senior Sami Benredda, senior Alex Fritz and senior Sophie McLaughlin in Sports and Entertainment Operations Research
• Junior Taryn Greenberg and junior Olivia Kulesza in Community Giving
• Junior Ethan Hurwitz and junior Nick Lufty in Business Solutions
• Senior Catherine Waldeck, senior Lauren Downey and senior Kyle Desrochers in Innovations Plan
• Sophomore Jarden Curran in Start-Up Business Plan
• Junior Audrey Leonard and junior Cailey Adamos in Integrated Marketing Campaign Event
  

First through sixth place winners will be moving on to DECA’s International Career Development Conference in Nashville, Tennessee in April. At the International Career Development Conference, students will compete against over 200,000 DECA members from 50 different states, four U.S. territories, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Korea and more. 

Additionally, King Philip’s chapter earned four spots in the Leadership Development Academy at the International Career Development Conference through chapter campaigns on state and national levels. 

Junior Tadgh Keller was elected to Massachusetts DECA’s State Action Team 62 for the 2020-2021 school year. Keller campaigned for this position throughout the year and is the first King Philip student elected to the team since 2016.

“I’m incredibly proud of all our students’ hard work and dedication,” said Dow. “Everyone did an exemplary job at State Finals presenting their projects and competing against other chapters. All of their efforts have paid off as we prepare to attend the International Career Development Conference in April.”

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