Samo DECA brings home top honors

On Saturday, Nov. 3, Samo’s business-minded students of the Samo Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) chapter had major success at the Riverside DECA Conference which featured schools from across Southern California. The Samo team brought home three podium positions and all attending members placed among the top eight in their sections. Vice President of Southern California DECA Duke O’Callahan (’20) and Samo DECA chapter Vice President of Communications Mason Hackman (’20) received a joint first-place finish in Sports and Entertainment Marketing. O’Callahan and Hackman achieved 99 percent and 98 percent, respectively, on their individual written exams and together impressed their adjudicator during their scored role-play. Samo DECA chapter president Jordan Kramer (’19) received third place in Quick Serve Food Services. DECA is a national organization dedicated to preparing high school students as business leaders and entrepreneurs. Conferences around the country are hosted where students can compete to show mastery in concepts concerning careers such as hospitality, marketing, finance, tourism and business management. Competitions consist of a written test covering a range of career-specific concepts and terminology and an interview-style role play administered by an industry professional.  Their preparation came in the form of diligent test prep, acquainting themselves with career-specific concepts and practicing how to communicate with industry officials on a professional level. The team intends to continue honing their skills in each of their fields to compete at state-wide DECA conventions in 2019. Hackman spoke highly of the 2018-2019 DECA roster.“Everyone this year has a lot of soft skills which are very helpful in the interview [portion] because that’s what it comes down to in these early competitions and that’s what we’re good at,” Hackman said.The DECA team is now working to complete a written business proposal regarding a student enterprise to submit in a district competition in January, 2019. The proposal is focused on addressing key features of a business such as financial analysis, operations, product service management and human resources management. Along with preparing for future DECA conferences, they will continue their community service-based efforts within nonprofit organizations.Vice President of Samo DECA Donovan Sanders (’19) has found DECA to be a valuable high school experience.“DECA allows students to learn about different business industries in addition to making connections with students from other schools across the state. Through DECA, I have learned about how the business world operates and made friends with similar interests I wouldn’t have otherwise,” Sanders said.