King Philip DECA Members Earn Recognition at DECA’s International Career Development Conference

For immediate release

WRENTHAM — Superintendent Paul Zinni and Principal Dr. Lisa Mobley are pleased to announce King Philip DECA members earned the organization’s highest honors at DECA’s annual International Career Development Conference in April.

A group of 55 King Philip DECA members attended the April 23-26 conference in Atlanta, Georgia, where they participated in competitive events to test their professional skills. The students qualified for the competition after placing in state and regional competitions designed to simulate real-life business scenarios and test students’ academic understanding and skills development earlier this year.

The DECA International Career Development Conference was the pinnacle of competition where nearly 18,000 students vied for international honors. Over $300,000 in scholarships and awards were presented to students and teachers for their achievements.

At the conference, the following KP DECA students received recognitions:

• Laura Gelsomini received first place in Business Solutions Project
• Sydney O’Shea received first place in Business Growth Plan
• Jeff Bourque, Noah Hurd and John Pfeiffer received fourth place in Franchise Business Plan
• Sarah Lehan-Allen received fifth place in Franchise Business Plan
• Ben Simmons and Caden Heslin received sixth place in International Business Plan
• Declan Breen, Niko Canning and Nico Calderone received sixth place in Buying and Merchandising Operations Research
• Samantha Asprelli and Isabella Fraone were named Top 10 International Finalists in Community Awareness
• Grace Clyde was named a Top 10 International Finalist in Career Development
• Trinjan Kaur was named a Top 10 International Finalist in Start-Up Business Plan
• Jack McCreedy, Jack Curran and James Hickey were named Top 10 International Finalists in International Business Plan
• Jared Curran and Finn Meroski were named Top 10 International Finalists in School-Based Enterprise

“Coming back to an in-person ICDC validated KP DECA’s process. Our hard work was put to the test on an international stage in the relentless perseverance of KP DECA. I am so proud of everyone and KP DECA’s return to ICDC,” said KP DECA President Sam Asprelli, who was recognized at ICDC.

In addition to the career-based competition, DECA members also engaged in leadership academies and networking opportunities with over 70 internationally-recognized businesses and universities.

KP DECA had the most students qualify for this conference throughout Massachusetts and had the most students earn international recognition on stage in Atlanta in MASS-DECA. KP DECA also had the honor of being the only chapter in the state to earn two first-place glass trophies, DECA’s highest competitive honor. 

“On behalf of the entire King Philip community, I would like to congratulate all of our KP DECA members for their immense success this year and those that attended the International Career Development Conference,” Superintendent Zinni said. “At the conference, those who participated showcased their knowledge and abilities and represented the King Philip community exceptionally well.”

About DECA Inc.
DECA is a career and technical student organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs who are interested in careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. DECA enhances the preparation for college and careers by providing co-curricular programs that integrate into classroom instruction, apply learning, connect to business and promote competition. DECA student members leverage their DECA experience to become academically prepared, community-oriented, professionally responsible, experienced leaders. DECA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with more than 225,000 members in 4,000 high school and college chapters in all 50 United States, Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico and Germany.

For more information about DECA, visit http://www.deca.org.
For more information about KP DECA, visit https://t.co/5LPUKQJdrV

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