2016 Collegiate DECA State Competition: Full Sail Wins Big

All of the students who participated took home at least a “Top 10” finish in one or two of their events, which will qualify them for the international competition in Washington, D.C. next month.

2016 Collegiate DECA State Competition: Full Sail Wins Big - Hero image

Full Sail’s Collegiate DECA members had an excellent showing at the 51st Annual State Career Development Conference. All of the students who participated took home at least a "Top 10" finish in one or two of their events, which will qualify them for the international competition in Washington, D.C. next month. As if that isn't exciting enough, this was also the first time an online student flew down for the competition since the team began competing three years ago. Online Entertainment Business bachelor's student Preston King was rewarded for his commitment, as he ended up taking home a first place award.

“I’m extremely proud of how well our business students represented Full Sail. All eight students were first-time DECA competitors going up against larger, more established chapters across the state including UF, UCF, FIU, and more. I hope Preston will inspire other distance learners to join our chapter and consider competing. Our chapter president, Sydney Low, also was recognized as a finalist for Outstanding Student of the Year. She truly earned it, as she’s been a consistently positive, hard-working leader and is an academic superstar in the Entertainment Business bachelor's program,” said club advisor and Entertainment Business and Music Business bachelor's Program Director Jackie Otero.

A full list of the award winners can be seen below.

  • 1st Place - Preston King (EBBS-O) - Entrepreneurship
  • 3rd Place - Jordan Kleeman/Coley Grant (EBBS) - Event Planning
  • 3rd Place - Jordan Kleeman/Coley Grant (EBBS) - Business-to-Business Marketing
  • 3rd Place - Kellee Abraham/Cameron Bramham (EBBS/SMMBS) - International Marketing
  • Top 10 - Sydney Albert (EBBS), Kyle Newman (SMMBS), Preston King (EBBS-O) - Marketing Management
  • Top 10 - Kyle Newman/Sydney Low (SMMBS/EBBS), Cameron Bramham/Sydney Albert (SMMBS/EBBS) - Sports and Entertainment Marketing
  • Top 10 - Kellee Abraham (EBBS) – Accounting
  • Finalist – Sydney Low (EBBS) – Outstanding Student of the Year

If you are interested in getting involved with DECA, the group hosts mini-challenge events once a month to recruit new members and offers a sample case study competition.