Bristol-Plymouth DECA Members Advance to the International Career Development Conference after Winning Scholarships and Awards at the State Career Development Conference

Twenty-three of Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School’s DECA students recently attended the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) in Boston, MA. These students won many scholarships and awards allowing them to progress to the International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, CA this April. The top five contestants in each category are recognized during the state conference.
Winning fifth place in Sports & Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making Event was Business & Applied Technologies senior Michael Osborne from Taunton and Biotechnology senior Jessica Spear from Bridgewater. Nicole Heim of Taunton also received a renewable $8000 scholarship from Johnson and Wales University.
Biotechnology senior, Christopher Tocci from Raynham placed in the top ten in Retail Merchandising. The following DECA members received an Achievement Award Certificate of Excellence: Culinary Arts students Jahan Araujo (Taunton), Victoria Martinez (Taunton) and Audrey Tinkham (Berkley); Business & Applied Technologies students Gerald Belmosto (Raynham), Jenna Dufresne (Rehoboth), William Silva (Raynham) and Kendra Whatley (Taunton); Carpentry student Joao-Lucas Guimaraes (Taunton) and Community Health student Elicia Marshall (Taunton). These students very successfully competed in Marketing, Finance, Human Resource Management and Hospitality & Tourism events.
Gerald Belmosto of Raynham and Kendra Whatley of Taunton were awarded the opportunity to participate in the Aspire Leadership events at ICDC. The DECA Emerging Leader Series provides a comprehensive leadership program for our members. Its goal is to empower DECA members to provide effective leadership through goal setting, consensus building and project implementation. Aligned with 21st Century Skills in the areas of critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration and creativity and innovation, DECA’s Emerging Leader Series prepares DECA members to be effective leaders in college and careers.
Four of these students will advance to the International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, CA this April. DECA celebrates its 71st anniversary in Anaheim and the students are eager to attend and test their skills against students from around the country and the world. “This is our first year attending ICDC as a chapter and the students and I are very excited to learn and grow from this amazing opportunity.” said advisor, Jennifer Karamanian. “We have a very talented group of students moving on in their competitive events, and we are looking forward to a memorable experience.”
The DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) is the highlight of the DECA year. Eighteen thousand high school students, advisors, businesspersons and alumni gather for several days of DECA excitement. Most participants at ICDC compete in one of DECA’s competitive events. The top competitors in each event are recognized for their outstanding achievements. In addition to the competitive events, many students and advisors participate in a variety of leadership and career advancing academies.
DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around
the globe. DECA is the leading Career and Technical Student Organization for students pursuing careers in business, marketing, finance & accounting, hospitality & tourism and other related career fields. DECA has 215,000 members in over 3500 chapters in all 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Canada, China, Germany, Guam, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Spain. The United States Congress, the United States Department of Education and state, district and international departments of education authorize DECA’s programs.