By Anthony Ciano, Managing Editor

March 14, 2024

ROCKLAND-  In February, a new DECA Business club was formed at RHS, striking student interest. 

DECA, which stands for Distributive Education Clubs of America, has the goal of preparing emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. 

In the past, Rockland High School once had a DECA club. With a lack of student interest, however, the club faded away as years progressed.

In 2021, new business electives course options were introduced to give students an opportunity to explore major and career choices.

The business electives offered at Rockland High School are currently: Introduction to Business, Entrepreneurship, and Marketing. All three of these are taught by business teacher Mr. Jared Lordi.

Along with business electives, Mrs. Adrienne Donovan, the Consumer Science Teacher, teaches a variety of cooking classes and a fashion design class to give students experience in the hospitality industry first-hand.

Together, Mr. Lordi and Mrs. Donovan work to teach students the areas of DECA, and together they have formed an official DECA club for RHS. 

Donovan explained that DECA “becomes another avenue for someone interested in becoming a business major or hospitality major and gives them information on content they might learn in a college level classroom.”

Oftentimes, the popular business and hospitality classes at Rockland High School can become filled up, and DECA opens a doorway for all students to be able to gain experience in the industries. 

One student who has taken advantage of the new DECA club is Gabriella Lynch, a freshman, who is thinking about business, law, and musical theatre for college but would love being her own boss and has “many ideas [she] would incorporate into her business.”

In her free time, Lynch is involved in several clubs including DECA where she practices leadership. These clubs include the Key Club, Drama Club, and Student Government. She is the freshman class head representative where she participates in site council meetings to vouch for the grade and vote on important topics.

Business is a popular major for students and having the opportunity to add DECA onto your resume gives students an advantage in the college admissions process.

Cameron Babcock, a senior at RHS who is majoring in the business field next year, said that opportunities like DECA “are important to students because a lot of students go into business, and being able to realize and learn what you want to do early on is very valuable. 

After graduating in May, Babcock will pursue either Information Systems or Finance as he pursues a four-year degree in college.

Although RHS’s DECA was formed to give the opportunity to explore business for students interested in the industry and who could not fit the classes into their schedule, Mrs. Donovan emphasized that “anybody can join this club and that she “would never turn anyone away because this is an extracurricular and we always want more people to join.”

In their recent meeting, students were able to participate in different scenarios and activities to experiment with business and how to work through decision-making.

Lynch loved the meeting and said that she “got to pitch a business idea on whether or not to invest or spend money in order to benefit the company.”

Both Mrs. Donovan and Mr. Lordi have emphasized to the student body at Rockland High School that the new DECA club will have many fun and helpful aspects to it.

Mrs. Donovan said students who choose the DECA club as their Dog Block can look forward to “case studies, practice role plays, researching, and getting to meet other students interested in business as well as networking opportunities.”

Babcock, who has not had the DECA opportunity available to him until his senior year, has found other ways as well to experiment and practice business techniques.

In his free time, Babcock has prepared for majoring in the business field, by “practicing stocks with [his] dad”, as well as looking at informational emails that colleges send out after and before applying. 

Babcock encourages prospective business students to “explore really early” and take advantage of opportunities like DECA as well as exploring the industry in more simple ways like “watching videos on what each major can get you for a job and what can do within the major.”

Mrs. Donovan said that a main and important goal for the future of the DECA Club, is to eventually “open up a school store again and start selling Bulldog swag that is student-designed and marketed. She hopes to sell products like stickers, sunglasses, and key chains to start.”