Brian Harward staff writer
DECA attended its first competition of the year, bringing home 30 medals and 20 plaques in several different categories from Jan. 12-14 at the Wyndham Hotel in Anaheim, California, . Over 70 students attended the conference, making Beverly the largest school represented at the regional competition.
DECA co-presidents Sean Toobi and Mia Grossman placed first in the Marketing Management Team Decision Making competition. Toobi was proud of how the entire group performed.
“It’s the best our chapter has ever done at the district level. Among about 70 competitors, over 50 were recognized, around 30 placed top three in their respective events, and over 20 placed as overall finalists. Our competitors also swept three events,” Toobi said.
Senior Carina Massana says that her studying efforts propelled her to a first overall finish in her event.
“To study for the written exam portion, I used Competition University, a website used by all of our DECA members, to learn about the business administration core and more specifically the hospitality and tourism industry for my event. For the role play portion, I studied key performance indicators for my event and practiced my public speaking skills,” Massana said.
DECA members will continue to meet to discuss, plan and prepare for their next state-wide competition on March 2-5 in Anaheim, California.
“I’m expecting a lot from our members at state. We are the biggest chapter in SoCal, and BHHS outperformed every other school at District. The stakes are much higher at state, but I’m confident that we will stand out,” Toobi said. “These next few months will be crunch time. Our members are already tackling ways to improve, hungry for awards at state to move on to internationals.”
Beverly Hills DECA Winners
Marketing Management Team Decision Making
1st place: Sean Toobi and Mia Grossman
Principles of Marketing
2nd place: Yoni Kashanian
Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making
2nd place: Lauren Samidi and Saba Roofian
3rd place: Emma Sirota and Ryan Dubin
Restaurant Food Service Management
1st place: Carina Massana
Sports and Entertainment Team Decision Making
1st place: Jack Kaplan and Jonah Okum
2nd place: Erica Dennis and Kayla Shadgoo
3rd place: Jason Mandel and Ava Seccuro
Principles of Finance
1st place: Dylan Torbati
Entrepreneurship
1st place: Aria Modir
2nd place: Matthew Allana
3rd place: Amanda Khodabash
Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making
3rd place: Jordan Laredo and Yasmeen Ohebsion