At the California State Career Development Conference (SCDC), hosted at the Anaheim Marriott, Vamshi Ramasamy (10) and Emi Chow (10) placed in the top six in Food Marketing and Accounting Applications, respectively, Feb. 26-28. Both students qualified and are now advancing to the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) hosted in Atlanta, Georgia, DECA’s highest level of competition.
California is one of the most competitive states in the nation, with thousands of students competing across 30 to 40 events at SCDC. Ramasamy placed fifth out of 150 competitors in Food Marketing, and Chow placed sixth out of 75 competitors in Accounting Applications to advance to the international level.
They each also participated in different roleplay events, which required students to prepare for 10 minutes before delivering a 10-minute presentation to a judge acting either as a business executive or client. All competitors also completed a 100-question multiple-choice exam, which accounted for one-third of their overall score, with their two rounds of roleplay accounting for the rest of their score.
Chow said that her Accounting Applications event required her to act as a professional accountant, advising clients or managers on financial scenarios.
“My presentations imitate meetings with a client, manager/boss, or junior coworker,” Chow said. “In accounting we don’t make business pitches; we summarize, explain, and analyze a business’s financial information. Sometimes we make financial decisions for the business based on the information given. [For my first role play], my judge was my client and I was an accountant that he hired. The judge was portraying a small business owner who had just started, so in this case, I set up the general accounts where the financial information of their transactions would be sorted in. A big part of roleplay is explaining ethics, compliance with industry standards, and government laws and regulations. I have to speak using the correct technical jargon, while also using simplified terms to make it really clear to them.”
In his Food Marketing roleplays, Ramasamy said he was given scenarios that required him to develop practical business solutions for restaurants in particular.
“For my first round, the prompt was about how to retain customers,” Ramasamy said. “It was a restaurant and they had more customers coming in because there was a new business building that just opened up. The prompt was: how to maintain those loyal customers? My second prompt was how to manage and distribute surveys for feedback on food products. In the competition, the second prompt was actually kind of hard because of [the] more technical aspects.”
Chow said that preparation for DECA competitions is mainly individual. While the club meets weekly to provide general guidance and practice opportunities, competitors are responsible for studying independently.
“The club is kind of more to support us so that we’re able to go to competitions,” Chow said. “But outside of that, because everyone is in such a different event, we have to do our own preparation. So I’m completely self-studied. I didn’t have a course or a teacher, and so I really relied on online resources. I even got a textbook from [Business and Finance teacher Paul] O’Byrne on accounting that he had stored. It’s really up to us.”
Outside of the events, Ramasamy describes the competition environment as both challenging and rewarding. Students spend the weekend in business professional attire, attending exams, roleplays, and awards sessions, while also bonding with teammates during downtime.
“DECA competitions are actually really fun because you just get to spend the weekend at a hotel with a bunch of your friends,” Ramasamy said. “The people there are pretty supportive and they help you.”
Chow said that California’s competitiveness put a lot of pressure on her, but the bond within her chapter kept the stress manageable.
“The overall environment in DECA is very different in California because it’s one of the most competitive states in the nation,” Chow said. “It’s kind of a mix between a really relaxed and a really competitive environment. There are expectations, but I think having my friends around me definitely helps. Some schools place huge stress on their competitors, but our environment is more relaxed because our chapter is a little bit smaller. I think that makes it a lot easier for us to compete because there’s lower stress.”
Chow said they are now preparing for the fast turnaround to return to Atlanta for ICDC, which will take place April 24-29. There, they will compete against top qualifiers internationally, with 26,000 people expected to attend.
“I am extremely grateful for this opportunity to compete amongst some of the most capable, business-savvy students in the nation, and hope to make the most out of it,” Chow said. “Going into ICDC, I feel a little nervous and overwhelmed by the large scale of the competition and my own ability to prepare. However, I’m excited to be in a professional environment and look forward to meeting people who share my same interest in business and finance.”
