Ten student members of the Full Sail chapter of DECA traveled to Miami in November to compete in the 2016 Collegiate DECA State of Florida Competition. The club is open to any student and currently has more than 30 active members.

The students competed in eight different event categories and their hard work paid off. The results were as follows:

1st Place:

• Advertising Campaign – Dylan Schimka (SMMBS) & Isiah Goldston (MBBS)
• Marketing Management – Sydney Albert (EBBS)
• Marketing Communications – Leony Croes & Lisa Tombulca
• Event Planning – Kellee Abraham (EBBS) & Sydney Albert (EBBS)
• Sports and Entertainment Marketing – Kellee Abraham (EBBS) & Kyle Newman (SMMBS)

2nd Place:

• Business-to-Business Marketing – Jordan Kleeman (EBBS) & Coley Grant (EBBS)

Top 10:

• Sports and Entertainment Marketing – Jordan Kleeman (EBBS) & Coley Grant (EBBS)
• Business Ethics – Dylan Schimka (SMMBS) & Isiah Goldston (MBBS)
• International Marketing – Vitor Bourguignon (EBBS) & Kyle Newman (SMMBS)
• Human Resource Management – Yazmary Franco (EBBS)

“Every year our students prepare more seriously for our annual competitions, and this year our competitive spirit was certainly at an all-time high,” said club advisor and Entertainment Business & Music Business bachelor’s Program Director Jackie Otero. “Due to our intense Full Sail schedules, most students compete for just one year, then graduate. This year, we had the opportunity to bring five veteran competitors alongside five new competitors and it was the perfect balance of experience and enthusiasm.”

Nine out of the ten competitors from the state competition will travel to Anaheim in the Spring of 2017 to compete on an international level.

If you are interested in getting involved with DECA, the group meets regularly, hosts charity fundraisers, participates in community service activities, and hosts Mini-Challenges monthly to showcase how study-based competitions work.