Four members of The Hill School’s new DECA chapter advanced through the District and State competitions to compete at the DECA International Career Development Conference in Salt Lake City from April 28 through May 1, 2012. Alex Evans ’12 (Chester Springs, Pa.) and Ronuk Modi ’12 (Sinking Springs, Pa.) competed in the “Buying and Merchandising Management” team event; Aaron Hamburger ’12 (Chester Springs, Pa.) competed in the “Business Finance” event; and Erik Schmidt ’14 (Chester Springs, Pa.) competed in the “Principles of Business Management and Administration” event.

The conference’s opening ceremonies were held in the Utah Jazz arena and featured Chinese acrobats; the dance troupe, Jabbawockeez; several awards and recognitions; and a speech on business ethics given by George Zimmer, founder and CEO of Men’s Wearhouse. The competitions took place on Sunday, April 29 and Monday, April 30, with dozens of events and some 200 individuals or teams competing in each event, all of whom were the best in his or her state or province. On Tuesday morning, 20 finalists were named for each event, and those finalists had one more round of competition to determine the top 10 (who would go on stage that evening at the Grand Awards ceremony), and the top three (to receive trophies). Erik Schmidt made the finals in his event, a tremendous accomplishment considering the fact that most of his 200 co-competitors come from schools with business programs and DECA programs that practice year-round.

Congratulations to all the members of the Hill’s new DECA chapter, and especially those who worked so hard to get to States and Nationals! Hill DECA now is beginning to prepare for next year, so anyone who wants to join or support Hill’s DECA chapter can get in touch with adviser Mr. DeLucia.