In the past month, a new club named DECA has made its way to BHS. Khloey Kouflie ’28 and Caroline Soell ’28 have been working together since the beginning of the school year to bring this program forth. DECA is a high school and college program that is throughout the United States. The name “DECA” stands for Distributive Education Clubs of America. It helps students acquire knowledge of topics regarding business, management, marketing, finance, hospitality, entrepreneurship, and more. Kouflie expressed that, “it is a good opportunity to learn about real-world problems while students are in high school so students can dip their feet in the business world if they plan on going into it”.
This well-known program allows students to compete in their subject of choice and helps raise money for schools, scholarships, small businesses, and furthermore. DECA helps many students prepare for their future, whether going to college or traveling into adulthood. This worldwide program started in 1946 and has now been in business for 79 years. Studies show that more people who have educated themselves with DECA have succeeded in college than those who have not used it. For example, according to DECA’s official statistics, 26.2% of people who have been in DECA are more likely to have a career in business and management. This can be crucial to some as it may have built their whole career. In entrepreneurship, this program has proven to help students advance into a career 20% more than students who did not use it. Knowing about being an entrepreneur before becoming one has been seen as significant. There may be more obstacles than one realizes.
The benefits of DECA are extremely vast and fruitful according to Caroline and Khloey. As explained by Soell, “DECA does fundraisers, it can help raise money for the school, and it creates a community where students can learn topics that are not taught in the regular classroom. DECA gives students an opportunity they would never have had unless enrolled in this club.” This program also helps students look unmatched compared to others on resumes and college applications. In high school, DECA is also seen as an exemplary way of helping students gain more knowledge before they go to college or need to accomplish said tasks. Many have found that DECA is a fun, beneficial club that can improve awareness of their future.
Mr. Zangara, a world and US history teacher, has become the advisor for this club. It makes students more comfortable to have a familiar face when joining a new activity and Mr. Zangara is just that. He has stated that he believes, “DECA will provide an incredible opportunity for students that have an interest in business, entrepreneurship, and leadership”. It is deemed additionally beneficial that DECA has events and projects to help students grasp the topic they choose. This club as a whole “…[looks] forward to welcoming guest speakers and opportunities for future events”. These occurrences will be planned by the leading staff of this club including Mr. Zangara and will be highly appreciated and anticipated.
Caroline and Khloey have been extremely dedicated to making this club come about at BHS. These two freshmen were both very interested in the topics consisting of DECA when the opportunity came around to bring it to our school. They both explain how it is a good dip into the business world without waiting until college and how it especially helps students solve real-world problems only in high school.
DECA has been an interest for a lot of students. So far, sixty-two students (and counting), have signed up for it. With being a newly approved club, many meetings and activities will be taking place. As Khloey helped explain, “Students will receive the information that they need if they’d like to learn more and talk to any of the club leaders. For updates, join the Google classroom.” If students are interested in joining, they can email Khloey, Caroline, Mr. Zangara, or talk to other club members.
