As the largest State High club, DECA dominates SCAHS culture. From sending 105 members to compete at States, to nearly 50 qualifiers advancing to the international competition ICDC, it’s clear that State High’s DECA chapter is one of the most powerful in the state.
DECA, or Distributive Education Clubs of America, is a club that prepares high school students for careers in business, such as marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. Members compete in multiple types of events, first at the regional level, then at PA DECA States. State High DECA president and senior Jayson Lu described the different competition opportunities: roleplay and written.
“Roleplay events, they are a lot more impromptu. So all you really have to do is just study different business terminology concepts,” Lu said. “Whereas the written events, it’s more [work] outside of meetings, where you’re prepping, like you’re writing reports and doing more thorough comprehensive research of a business proposal.”
Junior Ainsley Martin, who competed in the Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making roleplay and qualified for ICDC, further detailed the roleplay event.
“You have 30 minutes to prepare where you’re given a scenario, such as, like, someone wants to start a new business or or an advertising campaign … and there’s KPIs [Key Performance Indicators], which are specific things that you need to do or explain,” Martin said. “And then you have 15 minutes to present with a judge [acting] like you’re in that scenario.”
For written events, they’re less on-the-spot, and more focused on reporting and research. For example, a member competing in entrepreneurship could create an informed presentation pitching a new project.
After competing at the state level, members can qualify for the International Career Development Conference, referred to as ICDC. The 2025 conference will be held in Orlando, Florida, bringing together more than 20,000 students, advisors, business professionals and alumni for several days of competition and networking.
Junior Kali Nicholas qualified for ICDC in Marketing Communications, and will be attending in April.
“People from all around the world come together and compete in their event. So you get to experience your event on a more challenging level,” Nicholas said.
She also recounted her reaction to becoming a finalist. “I was actually very shocked, especially because I didn’t have a lot of experience in my event…I was very excited though, because it’s a big accomplishment,” Nicholas said.
Qualifying for ICDC is a big accomplishment, and with almost 50 members of State High’s chapter qualifying, they must be doing something right. Advisor Bridget Ciolkosz described what she believed made the chapter so successful.
“One, I think we have a large business department here with our school…Most schools have one or two business teachers. We’re lucky to have six,” Ciolkosz said. “I also think it helps because we are so successful at it that not only motivates people to join, but it also motivates people to want to do better.”
With her experience, Nicholas agreed. “I wanted to join because I wanted to add some experience to my resume and given that DECA is so popular, I thought…I would probably like it too,” she said. “And I knew it was business related, so it would look good on applications and things like that.”
Lu also attributed the club’s growth to its strong presence. “When I first joined, we were under 100 [members]. Now we’re really close to 200. We also, like the ninth largest in the state now, so that’s really impressive,” Lu said. “I think the biggest factor to the growth has been, like our presence just throughout the school, whether it’s like videos or just having posters.”
With almost 200 members, DECA is also forced to take an effective and efficient approach to meetings.
“You sign up ahead of time for when you want to practice,” Martin said. “And it’s normal to not go to all the meetings…you mainly just stay for what you’re signed up to do, and then you can leave. I think it’s a lot easier when people don’t go to meetings, because when the whole club goes, it’s really crowded.”
Lu added his thoughts. “It is very student-oriented. Our advisor does do a really good job, like just helping in whenever, and she ensures that we’re all keeping up with our tasks,” Lu said. “Each year, there is a group of more experienced officers, they kind of guide the newer members, and then together we work to plan meetings and prepare.”
Highly motivated members are also able to climb their way into a state officer position. At the State competition, DECA Director of Finance and junior Olivia Shen won one of these selective positions for 2025-2026. She explained the process of campaigning.
“Basically, I take a test and then I have a campaign booth at States, and then I write a speech,” Shen said. “I also decided to do a social media campaign on top of that. So for around two to three months, I was planning videos, deciding how I was going to market myself, and determining what I wanted my plan of action to be to sell to chapter presidents.”
She expressed her joy at winning the title. “It was super nerve-racking, like the entire conference, because all the candidates were really good,” Shen said. “Honestly, it was impressive how many people were so qualified for the position, so I was really grateful that I was selected to be one of the four.”
As ICDC approaches in April, nearly 50 members from State High’s DECA will be representing their school on a national stage. With such a strong showing at ICDC, it’s clear the club’s growth shows no signs of slowing down.
