by Jared Hines
Contributing Sports Writer
Last weekend, 79 students from Rogers High School participated in the annual Minnesota DECA State Career Development Conference in Minneapolis. Students participated in events in the areas of entrepreneurship, finance, hospitality, marketing and other related fields.
They definitely didn’t disappoint.
The Mateuszczyks (Meghan, Brayden and Calista) will all represent RHS at nationals.
Twenty-six of the 79 students from Rogers will represent Rogers High School at the International Career Development Conference in April. The event, which is held in Nashville, Tennessee, draws 16,000 students from around the world.
“It’s the pinnacle of DECA competition,” Shalaine Seymour said, beaming with excitement over her students’ success over the weekend.
During the school year, approximately 3,500 students from Minnesota participate in DECA’s competitive events program. The Minnesota chapter of DECA is part of a worldwide organization comprised of over 215,000 members from all over the world.
Seymour, a teacher at Rogers High School, has many responsibilities. Along with her regular duty of teaching business classes, she also spends hours working with DECA students. The students participate in events throughout the school year, along with running the DECA store at the high school. The store is open during school hours, as well as at many athletic events, where students sell Rogers apparel that they have created, along with candy and a plethora of other items available to purchase.
“Overall I enjoy DECA so much because it provides me with tons of opportunities to learn professionalism, communication and how to be better than what most adults see in my generation,” DECA participant Emma Bolduc said.
Alyssa Rokke (left), Monique Nguyen (middle) and Drew Jenson (right).
Bolduc participated in a “Learn and Earn” project, one of the categories of the state DECA conference. She was awarded first place and is one of the 26 students who will be representing Rogers High School in Nashville on April 23-26.
Students who received state recognition include:
■ Emma Bolduc – Learn and Earn Project – 1st
■ John Brand – Sports and Entertainment Promotion Plan – 1st
■ Josiphene Dotterer – Community Service Project – 1st
■ Riley Frolik – Sports and Entertainment Promotion Plan – 1st
■ Drew Jenson – Hospitality & Tourism Operations Research – 2nd
■ Drew Jenson – Community Service Project – 1st
■ Joe Johnson – Learn and Earn Project – 1st
■ Emma Kangas – Learn and Earn Project – 1st
■ Meghan Mateuszczyk – Community Service Project – 1st
■ Anna Nelson – Sports and Entertainment Operations Research – 3rd
■ Monique Nguyen – Hospitality & Tourism Operations Research – 2nd
■ Taylor Peterson – Sports and Entertainment Operations Research – 3rd
■ Alyssa Rokke – Hospitality & Tourism Operations Research – 2nd
■ Samantha Scherling – Finance Operations Research – 2nd
■ Daniil Stanisevschi – Finance Operations Research – 2nd
“In the beginning of our project we just had one goal in mind, to make it to nationals,” Alyssa Rokke said. “We were so confident in what we had done, and getting called up for second place and qualifying for nationals was the icing on the cake.”
Rogers DECA students show off their hardware after a successful weekend at state.
Along with many students receiving state recognition, a few students received additional awards. SBE (school based enterprise) gold certification was given to Noelle Simpson, Monique Nguyen, Angie Wagner and Abby Heikes, while Simpson and Nguyen, along with Drew Jenson and Jordan Pratt, were awarded the Outstanding Recognition Student Award.
“DECA is completely different from any other club or sport,” Bolduc said. “It is incredibly rewarding to spend months working on a project or writing a 30-page paper and getting to see your efforts recognized.”
Heikes and Pratt will be among the state finalists who will represent at nationals in April.
Other students representing Rogers include: Marissa Bolduc, McKade Poirer, Calista Mateuszczyk, Cailey Henderson, McKone Corkery, Ben Schaupp, Ellie Yonak, Chase LaMotte, Brayden Mateuszczyk and Ben Johnson.
“State was an amazing experience,” Rokke said. “It was proof that hard work does pay off, and it gave me the confidence I need to pursue business in college and hopefully be successful in my future.”