Austin High School students Giancarlo Marconi and Sawyer Myers are ready to take on the business world in Florida.

Giancarlo and Sawyer recently took first place at the DECA State Career Conference in Minneapolis to qualify for the DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) April 25-29 in Orlando, Florida. DECA is an international association of high school and college students and teachers of marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, marketing and other similar fields. DECA helps prepare students for the future.

“The DECA conferences are always just a ton of fun,” Giancarlo said. “You get to meet new people, learn new things, and it’s just exciting to reach that level finally.”

More than 10,000 high school students from across the 50 states, as well as participants from 25 other countries will attend the conference.

“It’s cool that we get to compete against the finalists from all across the 50 states,” Giancarlo said.

Sawyer said it’s both exciting and nerve-racking that there will be hundreds of teams at the competition. Sawyer and Giancarlo are on a team, and though some portions are done alone, the presentations are given together. The two moved on in the Travel and Tourism Team Decision-Making Event and have taken on prompts about cruise ships, hotels, amusement parks and others. Giancarlo said DECA focuses on business aspects and helps students gain future career-building skills such as a good hand-shake and to look people in the eyes, and recommended students take a business class if possible.

“In every field, business kind of plays a different role,” he said. “The communication skills that you gain from DECA are important in every field.”

This is the first time the team has made it to the international competition and they hope to gain more knowledge about the competition for future DECA members. They hope to come in first, though they are mainly excited to attend.

“I kind of hope that through our experience we can share with future generations of Austin DECA students, like how to prepare and how to make it there so Austin can have a bigger presence in the future and be more successful,” Giancarlo said.

He plans to attend the University of Pennsylvania to study marketing after high school.

The judging at the state conference involved a written exam, a preliminary round of competition, and a final competition round. More than 1,800 students from schools all across the state of Minnesota competed in events ranging from role play scenarios with specific case studies to 30-page papers and presentations.

“It’s kind of fun getting the scenario, because you really have to think out of the box,” Sawyer said. “Especially when you get to the higher levels because everybody’s as good at presenting when you get there. It’s who has the best idea and who can present it in the best way.”

About 100-120 students were in each event at the state competition and the top 12 students qualified to compete in the final round.

Giancarlo and Sawyer qualified in the Travel and Tourism Team Decision-Making Event. Kennedy Novy advanced to the final round in the Entry-Level Employment Interview, and Giancarlo advanced in the Advanced-Level Employment Interview. Giancarlo and Sawyer earned first place in travel and tourism, guaranteeing them a spot at ICDC.

Giancarlo also finished in third place in his interview and Kennedy was a top 12 finalist. Since these events were state-only, participants won’t move on to ICDC.

Kennedy and Carter Steichen also were recognized for their outstanding test scores on the marketing exam.

Sawyer hoped the team moving on would draw more attention to DECA.

“I kind of hope just more people learn about DECA because the more people that join it the better,” he said. “Just so that the future grade-levels can actually know more about making to finals and nationals just because it’s a lot of fun.”

Sawyer plans to attend Iowa State University to study culinary science after high school. He said DECA has been a good experience for him, helping him learn to communicate ideas more clearly and concisely, and helping gain more confidence in himself.

Austin DECA Students

There were 39 Austin DECA students that qualified for DECA State March 8-10, out of over 40 students on the team. These students made it to state after competing at district competition in Owatonna in January. The Austin State participants were:

Erik Anderson
Madeline Anderson
Justin Bergemann
Connor Bollum
Noah Brehmer
Nathan Brinkman
Sam Clasen
Zach Coffey
Sam Eisenberg
Riley Grinstead
Alex Hanson
Samantha Harmon
Kendall Hull
Olivia Hunt
Noah Kremin
Skylar Kroneman
Karla Kubesh
Gaby Marconi
Giancarlo Marconi
Allie Miland
Brandon Miller
Bailey Mueller
Sydney Murphy
Sawyer Myers
Joise Nelsen
Kennedy Novy
Lily Nystel
Shayla Pacholl
Paige Raymond
Bethany Rowball
Paiton Schwab
Isaac Schumacher
Carter Steichen
Dorothy Steven
Sophia Thoen
Levi Vierkandt
Tara Watkins
Jenna Williamson
Mary Willrodt