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8 Million Things I Learned at DECA CLA 150 150 huynhr

8 Million Things I Learned at DECA CLA

By: Blaze Lovell

The Big Apple isn’t just a gathering center for advertisers and media giants. People from various backgrounds around the world come to live, work, and play in New York City. There isn’t a better place to DECA Epic!

1) Take it in!

From Broadway plays to multiple sporting events and venues to the various landmarks spread across the five boroughs, New York City may appeal to anyone’s interests. Besides viewing and visiting all the city has to offer, take advantage of the network opportunities. Every DECA conference provides them, but not in a business metropolis on the scale of New York. Immersing yourself in the culture with other like minded individuals is rewarding experience. When in Rome…

2) Cheap food

What’s a DECA team to do with just 7 minutes left until the next train and no food? Sprint to the nearest Pizza stand! For just $3 ($1 in some places) you can find a pizza slice bigger than your face. Street vendors with $1 hotdogs and kabobs do exist. Look past the chain restaurants and fancy hotel eateries, opting for locally owned delicatessens and vendors.

3) Not everyone is rude

The movies make it look like the entire population of Manhattan is in a rush and disregards basic decency and manners. Yes, people will bump into you and not say sorry, but they are also trying to navigate through an area of 22 square miles with more people than the entire population of Rhode Island. Residents still hold open the door for you and give you directions when you inevitably get lost. People may have different mannerisms in certain cities, but at the core, we’re all the same.

4) Be on DECA Time (sometimes)

Remember that DECA team that got pizza? Well, they missed their train. The next one brought a surprise, however. A flash mob of break dancers astonished the riders on the train bound for the Bronx. This doesn’t mean you should miss important appointments, but in the words of Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Maybe that wasn’t quite 8 million things. If you want to learn more, visit NYC for yourself and see its population of over 8 million. Remember, everyone has something to offer. Every person is an opportunity to learn.

UNLV DECA members attend recording of The Voice 960 540 huynhr

UNLV DECA members attend recording of The Voice

By Bonnie Lei

Members of UNLV DECA were given the opportunity to compete in a Shark Tank-style competition hosted by UNLV DECA. Competitors were tasked with creating a brief marketing plan along with developing a pitch that would secure funds from investors to bring Kona Ice, a shave ice company, onto the UNLV campus. For teams that made it to the finals,the prizes included a $50 prize, an additional $50 for “The People’s Choice Award,” an extra $200 for the first place team, and a trip to attend a recording of The Voice.

Five teams were given one week to create and present their plan to a panel of judges. Of the five teams, three advanced to the final round. During preparation for the final round, the three teams had two days to improve and finalize their presentation and propose their business plan in front of a panel of judges and an audience of high school Nevada DECA members, who chose the recipient of “The People’s Choice Award.”

Andrea DeBrino, Christian Perez, Daniel Yankov Dinev, Olivia Crick, Bonnie Lei, Armandt Lance Sacramento, Rochelle Mae Ruiz, and April Carillo were invited to watch the recording of The Voice on August 11, 2015.

Ruiz, Lei, Sacramento, and DeBrino watched contestants of the Voice in the battle round compete to get into the next round. The contestants sang a song in pairs to battle against each other. One contestant in each pair had to impress their coach, Christina Aguilera, Pharrell Williams, Blake Shelton or Adam Levine, enough to move on to the next round. If the contestant was not chosen as the winner of the round, other coaches had the opportunity to steal the contestant. If no coach stole them, the contestant would go home.

In addition to watching the Voice, Ruiz, and Lei spent an extra day exploring Los Angeles, California with Nicholas and Randolph Huynh, UNLV DECA’s vice president of technology and president. Instead of booking a hotel room, they booked a room through Airbnb, a lodging rentals website, for the first time. Through the experience, they learned that hotel rooms are not the only method for living for a day.

The group explored Los Angeles and visited Santa Monica beach for a few hours before driving back to Las Vegas, Nevada.