DECA comes to ORCA! What it is and what to expect

New programs and clubs are always an exciting part of each school year, as they bring opportunities for students to find real-world connections to their academics. Late this past October, ORCA announced that they would be opening a DECA chapter for students to join. 

DECA stands for the Distributive Education Clubs of America, which is a Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) that focuses on building and exploring business related skills. “DECA builds career-ready skills across a multitude of industries,” states Cynthia Lofts, the advisor for ORCA’s DECA program. “It’s an opportunity to develop professional skills, workplace skills, [and] practice them.” DECA is a program that helps students develop skills that are centered around future careers and the work force. It focuses on things like communication, leadership, problem solving, and decision making. These skills are the base for everything else DECA does.

These skills and ideas will manifest themselves in a multitude of ways for students participating in DECA. There will be individual, hands-on, activities, like projects and simulations, for students to strengthen their knowledge on more quantitative skills. 

One major aspect of DECA is the community between students. “This is our first DECA chapter in our school,” explains Dr. Lofts. “So we kind of get to set the tone and experience as a team.” DECA strives to build a community of like-minded, motivated students so they can help and support each other. This will appear in some activities, like role-plays, working on projects together, and open discussions to share their own knowledge and experiences. Since DECA is fairly focused on leadership, there will be opportunities to practice and improve those skills, as well as advocate for themselves with peers. 

One of the most important activities in DECA will be competitive events. Competitions will be an opportunity for students to apply their hard work, skills, and classroom knowledge in a more formal setting. These will be an opportunity for students to build a community together and focus on the benefits of teamwork. The competitions that DECA hosts also can have monetary rewards if students are able to do well and win a place on the podium, which should help motivate students to actualize their competence and confidence. 

DECA also has opportunities for more measurable benefits. DECA has partnerships with many major companies, and will be able to grant students access to professional tools for learning and exploration. “Everyday I get these emails from DECA with these incredible opportunities presented by their industry partners. IBM, Adobe, just so many,” Dr. Lofts raves. “I can’t even name them all.” Some of these opportunities also help students earn industry certifications. DECA is heavily focused on putting opportunities for students to empower them to decide. It’ll open doors for scholarships, academics, and career opportunities by helping students stand out and learn advanced skills.

Cynthia Lofts and Summer Highfill are ORCA’s respective advisor and co-advisor for their new DECA chapter. “I think that [students] can expect for myself and Mrs. Highfill to be primary cheerleaders for them, and guidance people for them,” explains Dr. Lofts. “So if they have a question about something, they can always come to us”. 

In short, DECA is an opportunity for students to grow their professional skills and benefit from hard work and community support. Since this is the first DECA chapter at ORCA, time will tell what this program will nurture and foster in the students who have joined.