By EVA HANEGRAAFF
NORTH READING — “Future’s so bright we might need sunglasses!” Michael DelVecchio exclaims when discussing North Reading High School’s business and entrepreneurship club, or DECA, which stands for Distributive Education Clubs of America.
DelVecchio is the club’s vice president and four-year club member. “DECA is a business club centered around solving business issues,” he explains. “It helps young individuals develop interpersonal skills and great connections that they can use post high school.”
The way DECA achieves these lofty goals is through competitions in which club members can expand their understanding of various areas of business as well as gain the opportunity to practice skills that can be applicable in the real world. There are three levels to DECA competitions: regional, states, and international with competitors needing to qualify to advance to the next level. A competitor can either compete as an individual or with a partner, and if they choose to compete with a partner, their scores are then averaged out. Each competitor competes in one of the many categories. Categories include Business Law and Ethics, Hospitality and Tourism, Sports Marketing, Accounting, and many more.
The competition itself is broken up into two major components. The first is a test in the chosen subject area, and the second is a role-play in front of judges based on a prompt. The competitors are given 30 minutes of prep time for the role-play and must be able to answer business questions posed to them by the judges. For this event, they are scored based on a rubric. The test and the role-play are both used to finalize a competitor or partnership’s final score. The top six competitors or partners in each category move on to the next round of competition. President and four-year DECA member, Mahir Mugdho, described competitions as “a fascinating experience, just complete demonstrations of determination, fun, and spirit.”
North Reading DECA already competed in their regional competition this year, in Boxborough, with 19 students qualifying for the state competition, which was “the largest number in club history,” DelVecchio explains. This competition took place Dec. 10 and 11, with North Reading securing 11 individual qualifiers and four team qualifiers. The students who qualified individually were seniors Braden Crossan, Matt Collins, Connor Gattusso, Jason Lord, Mahir Mugdho, Kaio Pancini and Nick Santiago; juniors Liam Kirwin, Shriya Upadhyay and Shenaya Verma; and freshman Hannah Frew.
The teams that qualified were Bernardo Pancini and Jack Conlon, Jackson Wesley and Owen Phillips, Grace Higgins and Marisa Montana, and Madison Forbush and Sydney Scholz. These 19 students will compete in the state competition being held in Boston in February. “These students have demonstrated incredible dedication and skill,” Nicole Pierce, the club’s faculty advisor, said. “Their performance at districts is a testament to their hard work and passion for business and leadership.”
“You can have a lot of fun, but when states comes around, it’s a whole new attitude,” Mugdho states. This added pressure is not taken lightly by North Reading DECA members who know that they now have a chance to qualify for the international conference being held in Orlando Florida this year. “Now you know that everybody is qualified,” Mughdo explains, adding, “these are the top six from all the districts. You are going against some of the best in your state and now your stakes are higher because everyone is competing for the top six spot to go to Florida.”
Last year, North Reading had two students qualify for the international competition, now graduated, Cassie Fitts and Eli Hunt.
“Competitions are a great opportunity for those who want to compete and want to show what they’re capable of,” DelVecchio adds. “Every year we look forward to these events, and so do our members and we want to keep packing them full and make a name for ourselves with North Reading DECA.” To reinforce DelVecchio’s point about making a name for North Reading, Mugdho asserts, “we’re sending more and more people to states each year.”
Winning is also not the only thing in the minds of DECA competitors. “There are scholarships at stake now and these huge awards that give you the opportunities to meet with business owners, CEOs,” Mugdho explains. Owen Phillips, the club’s public relations officer adds, “It’s a great way to network and connect with businesses, colleges, and other like-minded individuals who want to pursue the same interests in business as yourself.”
DECA+ app helps students prepare
When competing in a DECA competition, students need to prepare for both the test and the role-play. Members utilize the DECA+ app that is provided to them by the DECA organization that supplies them with examples of roleplays and study materials. Mugdho describes DECA+ as “one of the best applications to have ever come out in the modern century.” DelVecchio agreed, adding, “those who utilize DECA+ and prepare for their individual events gain the most success.”
Grace Higgins, the club’s fundraising coordinator, discusses a different aspect of preparation, saying, “we’re lucky enough to go to a school that has a lot of business classes, so it gives a really good baseline of information to understand the key concepts and be able to succeed at the competition.”
Beyond competitions, DECA is a part of the North Reading High School in other ways as well. “We have so many fundraisers and I would say that’s a big part of our school community,” Mugdho explains. One such fundraiser that North Reading High School students highly anticipate is the annual chocolate fundraiser, in which club members carry around boxes of chocolate that they sell to students around school. DECA also has club apparel that they sell online around the holidays. This apparel is both North Reading High School and DECA branded. “There’s some good business attire in there which ties into our motives as a business and entrepreneurship club,” explains Higgins. Their final unique fundraiser is their slush fundraiser that they started last year. For this fundraiser, DECA members sell Richardson’s slush during lunch.
DECA is clearly a unique club in a variety of ways, from the competition aspect to innovative fundraisers. “Something that sets this club apart is the fact that it’s able to mobilize itself in the way that so many other clubs can’t,” Higgins believes. She explains, “there’s a lot of other clubs at this school that strive to do some pretty big tasks but don’t really get there, but this club actually takes us to state conferences, international conferences and it has meetings that get a lot of membership.”
Through all these impressive accomplishments, officers are confident that the club will continue growing. “As we’ve seen profits going up, we’ve also seen membership increasing and our success increasing,” Higgins said. “Every year, we’ve sent more and more people to our state conference and it’s really encouraging to see that.”
Praise faculty advisor’s guidance
The DECA officers do not take all the credit for the club’s formidable achievements. Instead, they attribute the club’s extensive success to their faculty advisor, Nicole Pierce. “Nicole Pierce provides us with not only the resources to succeed but also the motivation and support,” Phillips states. DelVecchio adds, “we wouldn’t be nearly where we’re at right now without the help of Nicole Pierce and what she’s done for the club and the dedication.”
Pierce started the club six years ago, and Mugdho explains, “Miss Pierce is the biggest reason that this club still stands today and has seen the success it has.” Higgins adds, “She’s really built this club from the ground up and any success we have can really be attributed to her work and dedication.”
All in all, DECA is an incredible opportunity for all who participate for countless reasons. “It’s probably one of the most accepting and welcoming communities you’re going to find at North Reading High School,” DelVecchio asserts. Higgins adds her perspective, saying, “joining DECA is really an investment in your future. You’re doing something that you know will contribute to you being a better member of the business world and a better individual as a whole. You’re learning skills that can help you on many different fronts, whether it be business or just interpersonal skills.”
In Phillips’ opinion, “No matter where we go in life, we will always have the connections, relationships, and memories that we have set the foundations for in DECA.”
NRHS senior Eva Hanegraaff is a student intern at the Transcript for the 2024-25 school year. She wants to use her internship to learn about the field of journalism and bring a high school voice to the Transcript. To inquire about article ideas or news tips, contact Hanegraaff at evahanegraaff@gmail.com.