Rinesa Kabashi staff writer 
Thirteen of the forty-five DECA attendees who competed in the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) last weekend qualified to compete at the next level. Those students will attend the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Orlando, Florida, from April 26-30.  To see a full list of the competitors, click here.
“I am so excited to be a part of the largest number of state finalists in Beverly Hills history since it shows our growth as a chapter and our dedication towards improvement. This will give us a chance to have a larger presence at ICDC to give us more knowledge to pass, down as well as to motivate other DECA members to study more since they now see that placing at state is an attainable goal,” co-president of DECA senior Mia Grossman said.
Senior Aria Modir placed first overall against 1,000 other competitors in the Entrepreneurship Individual Series. He is taking his motivation to state in order to achieve his new goal.
“For ICDC my eyes are set on winning first place. To me it’s just a bigger stage and a bigger opportunity to prove myself. My preparation strategy will be similar to my one for state,” Modir said. “I plan on studying intensely every day with my chapter members and getting each other ready for the challenge.”
Seniors Rebecca Newman and Charlene Kay have finally fulfilled their dream of moving on to ICDC. As partners, this has been a goal for them ever since they joined DECA together their freshman year.
“I think Charlene and I were confident in our presentation and we were very creative. We gave the judge so many different visuals, and we presented our ideas with complete confidence and fluency,” Newman said. “I hope to be a finalist at ICDC and [Charlene and I] are planning to do everything in our power to make that happen.”  
As members start preparing for the next round of competition,, co-president senior Sean Toobi is starting to create individualized study plans for each ICDC competitor. Toobi hopes to have as many members get medals at ICDC as possible. His ultimate goal, though, is to get someone into the top three of his/her event, something that BH DECA has never done before.
 
“The most significant things for the students to keep in mind are the benefits of practice and detriments of procrastination,” Toobi said. “Consistency and repetition is key when it comes to preparing for a DECA competition, so I will stress the importance of strictly abiding by a study plan every week.”
DECA advisor John Johnson expresses his admiration for Toobi’s and Grossman’s growth throughout these past two years.
“Their junior year they did not qualify for ICDC and they were hungrier for their senior year,” Johnson said. “They wanted not just for them to qualify, but they wanted other people to want to be as hungry as they were.”