Future Business Leaders Need a Hand

Some potential business leaders of tomorrow could use an assist in broadening their knowledge and horizons while measuring their skills against those of fellow high school students from across Florida. 

The Lely High School DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) Club is raising funds to send six of its members to the 2024 Florida DECA State competition, set for Feb. 29 to March 3 in Lake Buena Vista, near Orlando. At stake is an opportunity to represent the state at the DECA International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, California, in late April. 

DECA Inc. is a nonprofit career and technical, student organization with more than 224,000 members in the U.S., as well as Canada, China, Germany, Poland, Guam, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Spain. There are two divisions, high school and collegiate, which prepare youths to be leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, business management and administration, finance, and hospitality and tourism.

The Lely club hopes for donations of $450 per student, or $3,000, for the trip. The money would cover transportation, three night’s lodging, registration fees and a trip to the Universal Studios Florida theme park, which is part of the event. 

“I think it's important because we want to highlight the young entrepreneurs that are at the high schools and give them a way to kind of explore in a safe business environment,” explained the club’s advisor, Sander Langebeeke, a Lely High math teacher. “We sometimes look at business as being very cutthroat. This is a really nice way for them to be introduced to different business sectors and to enjoy the experience with other like-minded individuals and peers. 

“So, my main message is we have such a great young entrepreneurial area here in Naples, and we have a lot of people that have been in the business sector that these kids can learn from, and I would love to see that grow.”

State competitions see students go before a team of judges with proposals for improvements they’d make in business management and administration, entrepreneurship, finance, hospitality and tourism, marketing, and personal financial literacy. 

“For example, we have one that's doing hospitality right now, and she's talking about what she would like to see change in the field, like management and those types of things. What they're going to do is to discuss with a judge how they would want to implement that into the industry,” said Langebeeke. “So, it's very entrepreneurship related. There's a lot of outside-the-box thinking that goes along with it.”

He said participants gain a great deal from the competitions, getting opportunities to do such things as honing their resume building skills and also encountering a level of business they can't always experience in a classroom setting. 

“For example, they could start working on doing interviews with different students and working on interviews with different judges, talking about using business vocabulary, which is very important, meeting with people in the business sector that may have advice for them or if it's a sector they're interested in, seeing if they really are going to want to make it a career or if it might be a situation where they say, ‘Maybe there's something else that I’d like to do. There's a lot of research that goes into it for the kids, but also a lot of opportunity for them to maybe get a leg up on someone who hasn't had this experience,” he added. 

The Lely students offered their own reasons for why the trip is personally important.

 “To be able to go to the DECA states is an amazing opportunity that will provide me with lifelong business skills that can prepare me for my future after graduation,” said Senior Caelan Burt.

“I would be extremely grateful and appreciative if I had the opportunity to attend this event,” said Senior Kelly Quintana. “Not only will this event provide me with the possibility of continuing further on in the competition, but it will also provide an amazing learning experience. By attending this event, there is no telling what opportunities and experiences I may encounter.”

 “It would mean the world to me if I got to go to the DECA state competition. The experience I would gain, as well as the competitive spirit driving me to the National event, will begin in Orlando,” said Rowen Lee, a Lely sophomore.

 “When people think of DECA, many have no idea what it is,” said Victoria Apoldo, a senior at Lely. “As a student who has participated in DECA all four years of high school and has participated in multiple events, going to DECA states as a senior would not only mean that I would get to retain a new core-memory of the time I spend there, but it would also a way to experience something with peers at my school that are in grades below me. This is very important to me as I am graduating soon and may never get the chance to do DECA again.”

Junior Kyra Schmid said, “The opportunity to go to this event means a lot to me because it gives me the chance to represent my school, meet new people, and develop or improve my skills.” 

Llangebeeke asked that anyone interested in donating or learning more contact him via email at langes1@collierschools.com.