The DECA International career development Conference occurred on April 25-28 in Orlando, and BPHS students did very well at the event.

The students competed at the Orange County Convention Center. Located southwest of downtown Orlando, it is down the street from Disney World.

Two students placed in the Top 10 in their respective categories, and another student was elected as a DECA officer.

Sean McClaine competed in the Marketing Management Services event. He was a Top 10 finalist. He also placed in the Top 10 in the test section.

Carolyn Vona also placed in the Top 10 in the test section. She competed in the Hospitality Services Team Decision Making event.

Vona and McClaine competed against almost 200 students in their respective events. These students were a part of the 18,000 students that came to the event. These students came from every state in the United States and other foreign countries.

In addition, Tara Nath was named the vice president for DECA’s North Atlantic region. As vice president and a member of the Executive Office group, Nath will go to several DECA planning meetings and conferences, both state and national, all over the country. In addition, she will assist in the making of DECA’s Program of Work. Furthermore, Nath will continue to promote DECA and tell students information about events on various social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter. Nath will attend the University of North Carolina next year.

Other BPHS competitors at the event were seniors Becca Kubizcki, Emily Kukan, and Brian Malarkey, and juniors Cassie Brown, Emma Bruno, Tasha George, Abby Hartzell, Justin Nath, Corinne Swogger, and Kelsey Tischler.

Sophomore competing at the conference include Tarush Bahl, Carolyn Cook, Courtney Maslanka, Sammy Schweitzer, and Paige Swindell. Freshman Sabrina Tatalias also went to the conference in Orlando.

“It was a great experience,” Tatalias said. “I learned a lot and had a great time.”