Twelve members of the Coginchaug chapter of Connecticut DECA joined 800 high school business, finance, hospitality and marketing students at the annual association career development conference held March 1 at The Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville.

More than 150 business professionals evaluated DECA members’ performance in the format of role-plays, case studies and prepared presentations.

The following CRHS students received recognition for individual ability and achievement at the association level: Maggie Ross and Alyssa Szymaszek were finalists in the Hotel and Lodging Management Series and Apparel and Accessories Marketing Series, respectively, and were awarded medals.

Three CRHS students were top place finishers and will advance to the DECA International Career Development Conference competition to be held April 22 to 25 in Orlando:
Alex Woznyk placed third in the Restaurant and Food Service Management Series, Hope Giammetteo placed second in Principles of Hospitality and Tourism, and Diya Patel placed first in the state for her Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan.

Also, Coginchaug DECA was recognized for its successful completion of its Chapter and Membership campaigns. The successful completion of these campaigns allows Coginchaug DECA to bring six students to the International Career Development Conference to participate in the Thrive Leadership Academy.

At the recent career development conference, Coginchaug DECA advisor Ryan Donecker was recognized for 10 years of service to the group.

As an integral part of the classroom curriculum, DECA’s industry-validated competitive events are aligned with the National Curriculum Standards in the career clusters of marketing, business management and administration, finance, and hospitality and tourism. DECA’s competitive events directly contribute to every student being college- and career-ready when they graduate from high school.