UW-Stout will host the 52nd annual DECA District I Career Development Conference on Saturday, Jan. 6.
The competition is from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Jarvis Hall Science Wing, followed by awards. An orientation for judges begins at 8:30 a.m.
The event, organized and run by UW-Stout’s Marketing and Business Education Association, is an applied learning experience for high school competitors “to gain valuable knowledge on marketing and business topics while also building interpersonal skills. It allows students to step into a role of a business professional and problem solve a case study,” said Ashley Otten, a marketing and business education senior from Madison.
More than 450 students are anticipated to participate from 22 area high schools:
Altoona, Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire Memorial, Eau Claire North, Elmwood, Glenwood City, Holmen, Hudson, La Crosse Central, La Crosse Logan, Alma Center Lincoln, Melrose-Mindoro, Menomonie, Northwestern, Plum City, Sparta, Stanley-Boyd, St. Croix Falls, Superior, Tomah, Washburn and West Salem.
They will compete in 14 individual and eight team events. Students’ skills are tested in business services, marketing management, hospitality and tourism, marketing strategy, retail sales and services, sports and entertainment marketing, financial services and entrepreneurship.
Winners and runners-up in each category advance to the State Career Development Conference competition Monday, Feb. 26, to Wednesday, Feb. 28, at the Grand Geneva Resort and Spa in Lake Geneva.
“This event is also a great leadership opportunity for UW-Stout’s marketing and business education students to build their knowledge of what being an adviser for DECA will look like,” said Otten, who has served as the Judges Chair for the last three years.
“I have built many connections. Being a judge within DECA is a great opportunity for anyone to learn more about the mindset of our future generation and build their personal business knowledge and insights. I have loved being involved with this event, and I will take all the things I learn into my career,” she added.
Approximately 65 regional business and marketing professionals are needed as volunteer competition judges. To volunteer, register online.
Judges have the opportunity to connect with and guide marketing and business career-focused high school students while networking with fellow professionals. Judges are provided a light breakfast, refreshments and lunch.
DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. It has more than 240,000 members in more than 3,700 high school chapters and 200 collegiate chapters.
UW-Stout’s marketing and business education degree, available both on-campus and online, is part of UW-Stout’s School of Education, which offers nine undergraduate and five graduate degrees, as well as eight certificates and certifications.
For more information about the competition, contact Professor Urs Haltinner, program director of the doctorate degree in career and technical education, at haltinneru@uwstout.edu, 715-232-1493, or Ashley Otten, judges coordinator, at ottena9509@my.uwstout.edu.
Otten will graduate in spring 2024. She will be student teaching next semester with an internship position approved through the state at Wisconsin Rapids School District, with plans to be a marketing teacher and a DECA adviser after graduation.
