Last weekend, 140 Wolverines set out to represent Wakeland DECA at the State Career Development Conference in Houston, TX. At State CDC, students competed in a variety of categories, including marketing, financing, presenting, and entrepreneurship. In their specific competitions, DECA students were rewarded for their hard work with 57 Wolverines receiving the prestigious title of being an ICDC (International Career Development Conference) 2024 qualifier, which is in Anaheim, CA this April.

“I’m super excited to continue with our project, and I’m even more excited to go to Anaheim itself. I get to spend more quality time with my teammates and friends and overall, become more connected with my chapter, as this is my first ICDC being an officer,” sophomore and officer Diya Sebastian said.

While competing at ICDC, students saw their strong connections with each other pay off.

“I’ve been working with one of my best friends, so I think the fact that we work so well together really helped us get to ICDC. We couldn’t have gotten this far though if it wasn’t for the amazing DECA officers and Mr. Drenowatz,” sophomore and ICDC qualifier Ella Brookshire said.

Even if a student does not qualify for ICDC, they may still receive an award as a distinguished state finalist. As over 7,000 Texas DECA students competed for a spot at ICDC, earning a medal as a finalist is also a major accomplishment.  For the finalists, it is now about building on this achievement and advancing further in the competition next year.

“Next year, my team will go out of bounds to proceed further to ICDC, and we plan on doing so by perfecting our research and inputting more liveliness and creativity into our presentation,” finalist and sophomore Liia Adzhamoglian said.

As a whole, Wolverine DECA represented Wakeland and FISD very well at State CDC, and they are sure to reach new heights at ICDC this April!