Maryland Students Recognized with Top Honors at DECA International Career Development Conference
BALTIMORE – Maryland’s DECA delegation brought home one second place medal along with other top recognitions from the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) and Competition in Atlanta, Georgia, held April 21-24. DECA is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education association with the mission to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.
More than 120 Maryland students and advisors attended the conference, making this Maryland’s largest delegation ever to attend ICDC. The conference brought together more than 20,000 students and advisors from throughout the United States, and other countries including Canada, China, Korea, India, and Mexico. The attendees participated in leadership workshops, campaign rallies, regional meetings, and competitive events.
The highest recognition for the Maryland DECA delegation belonged to one student from Walt Whitman High School who placed second (2nd) in their event. Additionally, other students received silver or blue ribbon medallions for their events.
The following are students, their categories, their awards, and the schools/systems they represented:
Thomas Fratantoni
Quick Service Restaurant Management, 2nd, Walt Whitman High School, Montgomery County
TEAM – Laura Yao and Katie Zhang
Hospitality & Tourism Operations Research, Blue, Richard Montgomery High School, Montgomery County
Grant Owens
Apparel & Accessories Marketing, Silver and Blue, River Hill High School, Howard County
Jermya Williams
Hospitality & Tourism Professional Selling, Silver, The SEED School of Maryland, Baltimore City
Jay Patel
Business Services Marketing, Silver, Glen Burnie High School, Anne Arundel County
Ben Meron
Business Finance, Silver, Walt Whitman High School, Montgomery County
For more information about Career and Technology Education and DECA, please contact Diana Hegmann, State Director, Maryland State Department of Education at 410-767-0536. You can also visit the official DECA Maryland website at www.deca.org.