Kansas Wesleyan’s DECA team will look for another quality performance Monday, Feb. 3 when the squad heads to Hillsboro for the annual state competition. The 16-student Coyote squad will face off against teams from around the Sunflower State, including Fort Hays State, Ottawa University, Tabor College and others in the competition that involves case studies and business-related presentations of various types.
KWU’s DECA team, coached by Brylee New ‘17, is in its third year of existence and nearly tripled its state medal count last year, going from 11 in 2018 to 32 last year. The Coyotes return 10 students from a squad that advanced 12 to the national competition in 2019.
“Our team has been working very hard,” said New. “Our goal is for everyone to get a medal, as that can help demonstrate that all the hard work the students have put into learning and preparing for this event was worth it.”
“I believe that one of the unique things about DECA is that, because of its very nature, it can bring teammates from different backgrounds and majors closer together,” offered New. “This is such a unique event because you have to work together and present solutions together. It can help form bonds that you just cannot find elsewhere.”
DECA, formerly known as the Distributive Education Clubs of America, was founded in 1946 and lists its goal as preparing emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. Its methods include numerous competitive events, including business-related competitions such as the Feb. 3 Kansas meet, where teams will compete in individual case studies, team (duo) case studies and prepared business presentations, which can involve written reports on a business or advertising campaign.
For more information on Kansas DECA, please visit www.kansasdeca.org.
Pictured: 2019 DECA team
