Stoughton High DECA Students Attend International Conference

The (Distributive Education Clubs of America) chapter took seven students to the 2012 International Career Development Conference (ICDC). 

This year's conference was held from April 27-May 2 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Seniors Nick Aliquo and Valerie Szeto competed in the hospitality and tourism team decision making competition. Both Aliquo and Szeto also served as Massachusetts DECA State Officers this year, giving two of eight state representatives.

Senior Cassandra Luce, a third place finisher at the , competed in the Marketing Management Series.  

The other four students, all juniors - Kerry Backman, Ilanna Schlehuber, Adam Leonard and Brett Hoffman - attended two days of Chapter Management Academy workshops.  

In this academy the students learned essential skills such as leadership, fundraising, how to run a meeting, and how to manage people,  Eddie Rodrigues, a SHS business/information technology teacher and SHS DECA Advisor said. 

Rodrigues accompanied the students at the Salt Lake City conference.  

"These students returned with an increased knowledge of the business world as well as new contacts from all around the world," he said. 

"I would like to thank all the organizations who support the program throughout the year that makes trips like these possible: Stoughton High School Administration, Parents, and Students. Also local entities that help in the fundraising process such as the Stoughton Chamber of Commerce, the Stoughton Boosters, and the Gold Directory. I would also like to give a big thanks to Jeffrey Pickette from the Stoughton Patch and Mark Snyder from Snyders Stoughton," Rodrigues continued.

To learn more about the DECA program at SHS, and to see how SHS DECA fared at the 2011 ICDC in Orlando, .