Advancing to state is the goal for most students that compete in athletics, fine arts, or any academic competition.

For 24 Redhawks that compete in DECA, goal accomplished.

DECA is an organization that prepares students for possible careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management, and on Wednesday, nearly 50 students competed in the District Career Development Conference at the Irving Convention Center.

“It was definitely really energizing, there were a lot of people in the room, we were all sitting in this main hall, and it was definitely crowded. There were a lot of students, everyone was buzzing, talking,” junior Riya Khosla said. “This is my first year actually going in person- I only started last year, so it was definitely a very different experience than last year considering that I actually got to see the judges, there were all the students around you know, but it was just a really energizing area.” 

Of the 47 students that competed, 24 advanced to the state competition in February.  

“I was really excited. So, how it was last year, is they kind of just let your advisor know if you’d made state or not so it wasn’t as exciting of an experience,” Khosla said. “But with this one, they called it out live, and they actually called out me and my partners name towards the end, so I was definitely really nervous as they were calling out the names, I was like holding my friend’s hand, worrying that they wouldn’t say our name, but once they did, I was really really happy. I got to walk across the stage and get my medal and everything.” 

From there, students have the chance to advance to the national level.

“So with us having a writing event, I guess it definitely just takes more practice and more revision, so how it works at competition we have to say our speech basically proposing our business idea, and basically the judge acts as a potential investor and we basically just have to explain why our idea is worth investing in,” Khosla said. “And I just definitely think that between state and ICDC, and between now and state, our main focus will be just on revising our speech, making sure that it looks more polished, and looks like a better idea for someone to potentially invest in.”