UNLV Collegiate DECA Hosts Competition Academy
By Cecilia Yau
On December 4th, 2015, UNLV Collegiate DECA hosted its 2nd annual Competition Academy for high school DECA students in the Las Vegas area to attend.
The competition academy is a place where students who are new to high school DECA can come to learn about competitions, get competition tips, and have a chance to try a mock case study or business stimulation in front of a real judge.
For many high school DECA students, the competition academy will be the first opportunity to develop their skills for the state conference and beyond.
After months of planning from the Competition Academy Committee, the event was a success. Over 80 local high school students attended and 12 local business professionals offered their time to act as judges and mentors for the program.
Students from UNLV DECA and CSN DECA also volunteered their time and gained experience learning how to run a competitive event of this size.
At 8:30 a.m., UNLV DECA President Randy Huynh officially opened the ceremony, though volunteers had started setting up several hours before.
After the ceremony, Nevada DECA State Director Curtis Haley ran the students through a training session where they all learned how to get through a case study. For many, this was the first time they had such an experience.
At noon, their hard work was payed off with lunch and the opportunity to interact with UNLV DECA members.
Over the next three hours, the students tested their newly acquired skills during the competition session with judges from various local industries. The judges provided feedback to students after the scores were compiled.
To close the day, students with high enough scores were given medals at the award ceremony.
UNLV DECA had a blast hosting the 100+ students, advisors, and judges on our campus. We hope that the students excel in their state competition next month and return next year for our 3rd annual Competition Academy!