A new club at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, DECA, which stands for Distributive Education Clubs of America, has made a quick impact on campus.
The club, which is under the guidance of Shilpa Wakde, a FrenchTeacher at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, is an international organization focused on developing emerging leaders in marketing, finance, hospitality, and entrepreneurship.
In just its first year, Bridgewater-Raritan’s DECA Chapter won the Membership Incentive award for recruiting over 50 members.
Then these energetic students from DECA sparkled on Friday, January 10, when they captured the championship at the highly competitive DECA District competition that was held at Kean University.
According to Ms. Wakde, there were over 2,000 participants competing that day at the college in Union.
“The competition tested students' skills in various areas, including role-play scenarios, business case studies, and written examinations. Participants were judged on their ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and demonstrate a deep understanding of industry-specific concepts,” Ms. Wakde reported.
The following Bridgewater-Raritan students placed in top 10 and have advanced to the DECA State competition.
Darsh Bajpai, Satwika Chakkilam, Ciara Decarlo, Darsh Gaur, Aarav Gupta, Rishab Gupta, Roma Gupta, Manas Gumedelli, Mohnish Gumedelli, Rishi Khanna, Gayatri Krishnan, Sophia Liu, Sofia Mathew, Luvyakrish Manche, Harshith Nemani, Sanvi Parikh, Devin Patel, Advika Prakash,Ohmal Suresh, Anay Sharma, Neel Wakde, Charles Wang, Andrew Zagula
“Their hard work and preparation paid off as they impressed the judges with innovative solutions and polished presentations.We’re incredibly proud of what they’ve accomplished and excited to see them advance to the state competition,” Ms. Wakde said.
“A special thanks to Zachary Bray (Business Teacher at Bridgewater-Raritan High School) who chaperoned the trip to Kean. He was a huge support and help with managing the students and the hectic events that took place at the conference,” Ms. Wakde shared.
She continued:
“The students will now gear up for the next round of challenges at the State DECA competition, where they will compete against the best talent from across New Jersey.”
The DECA State competition will be held at Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center, Atlantic City, from March 4 through 6.
“Congratulations to all participants and winners for their dedication and success,” she said.