Fossil students excel at state DECA competition

Isabella Mahal • March 3, 2017

Photo Credit: Kimberly Devenny

From February 25-28, Fossil Ridge High School students competed at the state competition for Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. 45 students spanning all grade levels qualified for the national competition, which will be held in Anaheim, California between April 26-29.

Jessica Yang, freshman, and Ella Devenny, junior, both qualified for the national competition. They explained that the DECA organization is designed to improve critical thinking and public speaking in high school students, and allows them to compete against students from various schools. Each participant has a role play event or a project that is presented before a panel of judges. In role play events, students have ten minutes of prep time to prepare a presentation, which could be about any topic within the event’s category.

Yang, for example, competed in Principles of Finance. Most of her role plays throughout competition season were similar to real life interviews, and were about topics from finance to customer service. She explained, “I was challenged to think of creative ideas and present them effectively to the judges, which are skills I will definitely use in the future.” At state, she found that she grew closer with a lot of people she hadn’t met before.

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Camille Giles, junior, qualified for state in Human Resources Management and Business Services Operations Research. She will compete in the latter at Nationals, and said that, “I am so impressed in Fossil’s performance, not only compared to our expectations but also compared to the schools we were competing against.” Her favorite part of DECA is the people and the feelings that she’s surrounded with at competition, and especially the moment when a project that she’s spent a lot of time and energy on makes it to the stage..

All the participants cited similar skills that they’ve learn through their time with DECA. For Giles, the confidence that she’s gained has been vital. Yang has, “learned how to be a better leader, how to better communicate my ideas with others, and how to adapt to [my] environment.”

Here’s the complete list of students who qualified for Nationals:

1st Place Business Franchise – Ben Rugh, Katie Hinz, Erinn Hogan

1st Place Hospitality Services – Nic Lin and Neil Rowen

2nd Place Hospitality Services – Cammie Fowler and Preston Friehauf

2nd Place Creative Marketing – Ryan Cronin, Nick Edridge, Sydney Moore

2nd Place Learn and Earn – Spencer Evans, Katherine Laine, Cammie Fowler

2nd Place Hospitality Operations Research – Brecken Schafer, Ella Devenny, and Riley Hurley

3rd Place Restaurant and Food Management – Lindsey Swanson

3rd Place Principles of Finance – Jessica Yang

3rd Place Business Franchise – Caleb Seminair, Giana DeLeone, and Stephan DeLeone

4th Place Public Relations – Dayton Williams, Preston Friehauf and Will Beard

4th Place Business Operations Research – Camille Giles, Lauren Elliot, and Rachel Boyle

4th Place Community Service – Erica Lewis, Lindsey Swanson, and Lisa Landwehr

4th Place Marketing Communications – Sydney Moore

4th Place Principles of Marketing – Grady Forsyth

5th Place Community Service – Ben Walker, Owen Arkin, and Conor Medina

5th Place Independent Business Plan – Jack Hastings and Cam Lampe

5th Place Financial Literacy Promotion – Dillon Muth, Chase Mason, Alex Price

5th Place Financial Services Team – Jaret Anderson and Anthony Petrino

5th Place Marketing Management – Katie Hinz and Ben Rugh

School Based Enterprise – Stephanie Swanson

Photo Credit: Kimberly Devenny

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About the Contributor

Isabella Mahal, Head Copywriter

Despite all the warnings given to her, senior Isabella Mahal filled her schedule with AP classes and a single TA period. Many of these classes were only open to seniors and fascinate her, such as AP Literature and AP World History, so not having an off period doesn’t bother her. It isn’t just her school schedule that is full. Mahal fills her time with extracurricular activities like volunteering at the Humane Society, being the co-president of Fossil Ridge’s Spectrum, and being a member of the group Never Again NoCo that works to help end gun violence at schools.

If Mahal has some time to relax, she is spending it with her family and pets. Her younger brother, Sebastian, is a sophomore at Fossil, and they get McDonalds together in her free time. Her family dog, Gus, and her cat, Silverstein, help her wind down after a long day at school. Mahal loves hiking, biking, and hanging out in her hometown of Fort Collins. Although her music taste varies, she loves Counting Crows, The Front Bottoms, Duran Duran, and Modern Baseball.

Mahal never dreamt about spending all four years of high school in journalism, having joined the class to be with her best friend, Karen Manley. Due to their differing schedules, Mahal ended up alone in the class, which forced her to find her own place. She wrote academic and opinion pieces, adding movie and book reviews to her portfolio. After being the academic beat leader her sophomore and junior year, Mahal is now the head copy editor to round out her time in the class. Her dream school would be UC Berkeley, studying public or global health to one day possibly join the Peace Corps. Although Mahal isn’t pursuing journalism in the future, the class has become a window for her to find herself, and help others do the same. It's taught her about the students in the school whose voices aren’t always heard.

Mahal’s advice for incoming Journalism I students is to not be afraid to walk into an event or sport and be unsure about it, and to meet and talk with new people. People in clubs or sports that are less recognized are always appreciative of the recognition of their hard work. Even if you’re unsure about what you’re going to, you will definitely leave knowing more than before, and it’ll make you a more caring person to understand how everyone’s different experiences shape who they are. She loves the forum that journalism lends for people to understand the world around them, and she is a self-proclaimed “first amendment enthusiast”.