Academic Decathalon and DECA students have advanced to state and will be competing Feb 24-26.

“Students did very well in districts and now we know what their weaknesses are,” DECA coordinator Chris Ham said. “We figured out what they got points off on, and now that we know that, we’re going from there.”

Academic Decathlon students will be travelling to El Paso and DECA students to San Antonio to compete.

“The sense of accomplishment feels really good,” junior and DECA competitor Sahana Kodoli said. “I think this says that we have a strong chapter and we’re very proud of that and I think it’s definitely something we can brag about. It’s cool to be taking so many gifted, talented people to state.”

Both DECA and Academic Decathlon students hope the state competition will push their academic boundaries and lead them to success.

“Qualifying for state was a very valuable experience and getting the opportunity to have this experience is really exciting,” junior and Academic Decathlon competitor Nirmal Bhatt said. “I think this shows that our district has a very strong academic program that encourages students to not only succeed in their academic classes but also to go out and challenge themselves and push their boundaries.”