Worcester Tech Students Take First Place at MA DECA Conference
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
The Conference drew over 2,000 DECA students from 60 schools across the state. DECA is a non-profit student organization for high school and college students that prepares them to be emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in careers of marketing, finance, hospitality, and management.
WTHS Seniors Sha-Aisa Taylor, Marta Wasawiecz and Esmely Munoz will be going on to represent Massachusetts at the DECA International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, Georgia on May 3 - 6. The students worked in a partnership with WCU on a Financial Literacy Promotion Project that garnered them the gold.
Students developing a comprehensive research report
At WTHS, each program of study has developed its own shop-related project that students are required to complete prior to graduation. In the Finance and Marketing Department, students are required to develop a comprehensive research report that is based on DECA guidelines. John Foisy, Finance and Marketing Department Head, and a DECA Board Member, along with Lauren Hayes, Finance and Marketing teacher, were the students’ advisors and mentors.
“With the help of Worcester Credit Union (WCU), Taylor, Wasawiecz and Munoz’s project involved them reaching out to various community groups and helping to educate those groups on the basics of banking and credit,” Foisy said.
“WCU has had a branch at WTHS since it opened in 2006. In that time we have worked with over 100 students in the school’s finance and marketing program and given them the opportunity to acquire real business experience,” said WCU President and CEO, Karen E. Duffy. “We are proud to have had the opportunity to work with these students on their projects. We value their keen perception, insight and enthusiasm.”
Teaming with WCU
Seniors Frances Taveras and Lindsey Bernier also chose to work with WCU on their project. The young women placed in the top 10 at the State Conference. Their project involved researching WCU and its current branding, and then developing a detailed marketing plan targeting the collegiate community. The overall goal was to enhance and add value to the credit union’s brand.
“The research began with a focus on social media and the creation of a micro website focused on targeting a young adult market, specifically the local college student population,” Foisy said.
Developing a comprehensive project
Taveras and Bernier consulted with both Duffy and PENTA Communications, Inc. CEO, Deborah Penta, WCU’s advertising and marketing partner, in order to develop a comprehensive project.
“The students are bright, engaged, and demonstrated to all of us that they have learned academically what they were able to implement practically,” said Penta. “I applaud Worcester Technical High School, John Foisy and the DECA team, for their commitment to excellence. It is clear why the High School has received so many prestigious accolades for extraordinary performance.”
“This has been an amazing and exciting opportunity for our students. We thank both WCU and PENTA Communications for providing our students with the expertise and support to make this a valuable learning experience,” said Foisy.
“All these students spent innumerable hours on their projects and the research that was involved. Frances and Lindsey focused on social media and the young adult market, which is in perfect alignment with WCU’s vision for the future,” Duffy said. “Sha-Aisa, Marta and Esmely’s project of educating different groups on basic financial literacy speaks to WCU’s mission of supporting our community through educational outreach.”
Along with Taylor, Wasawiecz and Munoz, additional WTHS students who placed in the top four and will be attending Nationals are Abdallah Issa (Stock Market Game) and Kyle Geller (Professional Selling).
Other WTHS students who earned a fifth through 10th place and will go to Nationals should a team in one of the top spots decide not to attend include:
- Lishleynny DeJesus, Tiarra Fisher (Advertising Campaign)
- Tavia Rosario, Nico Perez (Entrepreneurship Promotional Plan)
- Taveras and Bernier
“We are so proud of all the students who participated in the State Conference,” Duffy said.” We will be rooting hard for those students who are going to Nationals to bring home another win for WTHS and our entire community.”
Related Slideshow: Best Mortgage Rates in Central Massachusetts
Rates were gathered from each individual corporate website on 3/12/14.
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