There are many clubs, sports, and activities to do around the Olympic Heights campus, but perhaps the most enticing is the DECA club. DECA is a club sponsored by the hospitality teacher, Ms. Elisa Beardsley-Dodd, also known as Ms. B. While there are many good clubs to join, including FBLA and Key Club, DECA serves its own benefits and offers many activities and learning moments for its members. DECA Inc., formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America, prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.

DECA is a national club that was brought to Olympic Heights in 2018. As of this year, they have surpassed their record of most joined members. The club is constantly growing and has a large interest within the school. The chocolate boxes that are often seen being sold around lunch and in between classes are actually used to help fundraise for the club. The money helps go towards DECA merch, funding for meetings and events, and credit towards some of the field trips the club provides.

One of the most notable trips, and the one this past weekend of October 27-29, was the club’s ELS trip. This trip takes place in Tampa, where a group of about 12 members attend a seminar with all the other Florida districts. “Students get to meet other Florida DECA chapters around the state and participate in a conference that the state officers host,” Ms B says. They learn insightful business and hospitality tips, skills for the corporate world, and perhaps most notably, a one day trip to Busch Gardens. Ms B describes the activities as “fun, engaging,” and they let “students learn more about leadership, teamwork, and DECA as a whole.” The experience lasts about three days and is highly recommended.

Even if members are unable to attend this trip, there are still others ahead and many of the meetings include interest meetings to teach new and existing members about the foundations and principles of the club, including help, and preparation for competitions. Ms B mentions that students “can find one of the 45 competitive events they can compete in.”

Competitions are a large part of the DECA experience. There is an interest meeting held every year in the first quarter for members interested in signing up for the competitions. Competitions allow students to use their hospitality skills and form solutions to realistic problems that would be brought up in actual business settings. There is a writing and a roleplay category, both in which a student can compete by themselves or in a group of up to three. These competitions not only teach important life and workforce skills but also create a fun experience and allow competing students to visit parks like Universal Studios as they climb up the winning ladder.

As a business and hospitality-oriented club, their goal is to help students who may want to enter such fields as hotel management by engaging members in an educational yet fun experience. The club centers around sociality and relies on its large membership to make a difference. One included difference isg the club’s participation in community service.

DECA holds a few community service events each quarter, including one that just past, a book signing event. Members brought in a children’s book, decorated bookmarks, and wrote sweet messages in the margins. Those books were delivered to children in need. “Our community service team and events try to make them meaningful and impactful to the local community,” Ms B highlights. The club also offers another event in February. Last year they made keychains to sell around campus, and the earnings went towards the families of Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting. They use the event as an honorable way to sow their remembrance and support towards the suffering families and to raise money for them while bringing the community together.