Masterman's First DECA Conference

On December 1, 2025 students that were a part of the Masterman DECA club attended a conference to show off their business skills and compete. It was the first conference of the year so there were many ups and downs with it  but overall students found it to be a very enjoyable experience and there was much to learn from it. However, many students who attended the conference found there to be multiple organizational issues with it. When it came to the test portion of the conference where students would be evaluated on their skills for their topics, some students lacked a proctor for the test and there were no directions for how to get onto the website to take the test. On top of that, there was no Wi-Fi for some students, so when it was time to begin the test, many students had to use their own personal hotspot. 

One student who attended said, “we didn’t really get any help until the very last moments of the test.” 

There were also issues with the scheduling. When it came to the roleplay portion of the conference, Students were given a scenario and were to respond to it as business professionals. All of the times set up for when each student was to be given their scenario were off  because administration discarded the schedule and made it into first come, first served, which created huge lines that students had to wait in for even over an hour. Sanvi Pandejee (‘29) says, “I was one of the first scheduled roleplays so I had it a lot better than most, some did not get their turn up until 3 or 4, mind you, we got there at 9:30 am.”

On the bright side, when students finished their test and roleplay, they were able to attend events like a fashion show that was disco themed or a disco bingo, helping students unwind after hours of intensive competition. In between tests and roleplays, students could be found studying and preparing, giving every lounge an ambiance of competition and tension. At around 4:30, the awards began to be announced, and many Masterman students placed in the top three. After dominating the first conference of the season, the DECA team is off to states!  In the end, the friendly competition and the experience of the conference is what made it a great learning experience for the DECA competitors. The Masterman DECA community provides the opportunity for participants to grow their knowledge and to develop into confident individuals that can express themselves in clear and concise ways. Congratulations to all of the Masterman participants in the first DECA conference of the year!