Husky DECA team members and adviser Craig H. Wilson pose at the 2016 Minnesota Collegiate DECA Career Development Conference in Brooklyn Park.
Thirteen members of Husky DECA will travel to the nation’s capital to compete at the April 16-20 Collegiate DECA International Career Development Conference.
Adviser Craig H. Wilson, assistant professor of accounting, predicts St. Cloud State will have top-three finishers at the 55th annual event, which is expected to attract more than 1,300 students.
Husky DECA president is Kelsey Jones, Sartell.
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Collegiate DECA prepares students for careers by integrating classroom skills with real-world experiences. The student-driven organization puts an entrepreneurial focus on five academic areas: Marketing and sales; arts, communications and technology; business management and administration; finance and accounting; and hospitality and tourism.
Students can choose from among 24 competitive events. The 13 Husky DECA competitors advanced to nationals from the Feb. 18-19 Minnesota Collegiate DECA Career Development Conference.
Students and their events:
Kelsey Jones (Sartell), human resources management
Alexa Dieterichs (Ramsey) and Abby McDonald (Ramsey), sports and entertainment marketing
Mike Voorhees (Maple Grove), retail management
Claire Schroepfer (St. Cloud), banking financial services
Andrew Clauson (Morris, Illinois) and Tony Margiotta (Brooklyn Park), corporate finance
Shelby Ridinger (Cloquet) and Trevor Buchholz (Princeton), emerging technology marketing strategies
Taylor Biskey (Sauk Rapids) and Trevor Voss (Sauk Rapids), business research
Chloe Hoeft (Maple Grove), restaurant and food service management
Michael Wigstrom (Mahtomedi), professional sales
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National awards
McDonald, Ridinger, Jones, Wigstrom and Margiotta each earned a Gold Leadership Passport Award, a top-level achievement that acknowledges competence, innovation, integrity and teamwork. Clauson earned the Blue Leadership Passport Award, a second-level award.
Clauson and Ridinger each earned the Chapter Leadership Award, which recognizes campus and chapter leadership skills.
St. Cloud State was one of just four Minnesota schools to earn a Chapter Leadership Passport Award, which acknowledges a chapter’s wide range of activities that appeal to many different interests and contribute to campus goals. The award was at the Presidential level, the highest level.
St. Cloud State was the only Minnesota school to earn a Community Service Award, which recognizes civic activities performed in the community.
Winners will be recognized at nationals, which is at the Renaissance Washington DC Hotel, northeast of the White House.
The acronym DECA formerly stood for Distributive Education Clubs of America. Collegiate DECA has more than 5,400 chapters in the U.S. with about 215,000 members. Among the schools that participate are Arizona State University, DePaul University and University of Pittsburgh.
