Holliston DECA students fared well at the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Atlanta, GA at the end of April, taking home certificates and top-place finishes!

“I’m so proud of our 13 students who attended the national DECA competition (ICDC) in Atlanta,” says HHS teacher and DECA advisor Robert Tivnan, “The students really did their homework, and their effort and determination really paid off. Ten of our students earned certificates of excellence, and two students earned silver (2nd place) in their category among thousands of students worldwide. This is by far our chapter’s best performance in our five-year history.”

“There were about 10,000 students there competing in 50 different categories. Some were participating in leadership, most were competing, and our kids just presented themselves well and had a great experience. Eleven of them were competing, some doing papers, some doing role plays. Everyone had to take a test,” says DECA advisor Mark Freeman, “They were very professional how they presented themselves and went about their business, but they were also to have fun when they were done.”

In the end, it was the youngest team members, sophomores Jacob Lawendi and Vishal Ramanathan, who took home second place in their category of Marketing Management Team Decision Making. 

“Vishal and Jacob, they were the youngest kids there (from Holliston). They worked hard, took it very seriously, and everyone was so ecstatic for them when they made it to the final round,” says Freeman, “They were in a role play, handed another situation, with 10 minutes of game plan of how they were going to present what they needed to present and present it. They competed against 20 teams in their final category.”

The young team members, in fact, were surprised to even attend the DECA’s ICDC.

“Jacob and I initially did not even qualify for the international conference at states,” says Vishal, “Top 12 make finals, and then the top eight make it to internationals after their finals roleplay. Me and Jacob got eleventh. Three teams with seniors ended up dropping out which allowed for him and I to go … to think that we would get second at the international conference in our category … was beyond unimaginable.”

In fact, Jacob says, he had been disappointed in the states performance, so much so that when his team got bumped to go, he wasn’t sure they deserved it. Those doubts were quelled in Atlanta, however, where the two worked well together as a team.

“The most challenging for me was by far the test and idea generation,” says Vishal, “The test accounts for one third of your score, and it’s not my strongest aspect, but Jacob always offsets my score as he regularly scores high. Aside from testing, trying to come up with slightly niche ideas is always hard because you have limited time to get visuals, your performance indicators, and an idea down, but we also have to make sure we stand out.”

“In our final presentation, we had no idea what a few of our performance indicators were since it’s almost impossible to study every single one. But this is where and me and Vishal thrive in my opinion,” says Jacob, adding, “Our strong suit has never been knowing the material inside and out, but rather presenting what we know in the most persuasive manner possible. So, I would say the most challenging part is dealing with situations where you feel underprepared.”

Because of its wording, Jacob and Vishal in fact weren’t even sure they understood the final prompt, both interpreting it differently at first. “Jacob was insistent on one thing, while I was on the other side, but through listening to one another and understanding how each of us thought it out, we were able to decode what it truly meant, and Jacob had it correct all along. It was small things like that and how we worked through them that taught me the most,” says Vishal, grateful to develop those teamwork skills, as well as the chance to learn patience and composure.

Both walked away with a sense of reward.

“The experience I had there is something I’ll never forget,” says Jacob, “I connected with colleges, businesses and CEOs from all over the country. But most importantly, I learned to never doubt myself and realized I could really do whatever I put my mind to.”

Advisor Tivnan notes that the club will “not rest on its laurels,” taking what it’s learned from this competition to apply to next year. 

The new officers have already started meeting with the goal to be more successful next year and to raise more money so it’s not a financial burden to those students who keep moving on,” adds Freeman, adding “Thank you to all those people who donated to be able to help these students go.”

Coming up, DECA will be looking for small businesses to partner with teams. Student teams, he explains, will use “program management tools to improve something at a business, whether it is increasing sales, helping to find employees, things like that.”

In addition to the 2nd place win by Vishal and Jacob, 10 Holliston students took home certificates of excellence, making this ICDC the Holliston chapter’s best performance ever. Photo by Margaux Pellissier