From April 25 - 28, top high school business students from around the world gathered in Atlanta, Georgia to compete at the DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) - a prestigious international event that challenges students to apply their knowledge, creativity, and professionalism in real-world business scenarios. This year, our school was proudly represented by two outstanding students who earned their place on the international stage - they were recognized at the Provincial Competition in February and were chosen to represent Team Ontario.
Tamsen, a Grade 11 student, competed in the Integrated Marketing Campaign Event, a prepared event where she developed and brought to the competition a detailed marketing campaign in advance. Her marketing campaign, “Get Your Feet Wet”, is focused on revitalizing and expanding the Head of the Rideau rowing regatta at the Ottawa Rowing Club. In addition to presenting her integrated marketing campaign to judges, she completed a comprehensive exam on-site. Well done, Tamsen!
Sofia, a Grade 10 student, competed in Retail Services Marketing, an unprepared event that required her to think on her feet. She also wrote a comprehensive exam and delivered two spontaneous role-play presentations to judges. The judges were impressed with her ability to analyze situations and communicate effective solutions under pressure. Sofia won top-10 medals for her exam result, for her role-play performance, and overall performance. This qualified her for the grand finale, where she competed in a final role-play, and was recognized and received a medal as one of the top 10 competitors overall! Congratulations, Sofia!
I, Mr. Hodgins, would like to give my sincere thanks to Ms. Rose, our Science lab-tech extraordinaire, for accompanying Tamsen and Sofia on this incredible week-long adventure, taking photos, and for helping to make their experience one to remember.
We are incredibly proud of both students for representing our community with professionalism and determination. Below, they share reflections on their experiences competing at the international level.
Tamsen Taylor:
Participating in the ICDC conference this week was a rewarding and memorable experience that brought together 26,000 competitors from Ontario, British Columbia, all U.S. states, as well as Germany, Honduras, and Puerto Rico. ICDC spans marketing, retail, entrepreneurship, finance, hotel management, and tourism, with a variety of events in each category. There are two different styles of competition: written events have a prepared component such as a report or a pitch deck submitted ahead of time, while oral events include a role play to a judge during the conference. Most events also involve writing an exam in the event cluster.
Our experience began with the opportunity to engage in a training day hosted by Ontario DECA, which provided valuable preparation and insight. During the conference, I competed in the Integrated Marketing Campaign for an Event (IMCE), which involves developing and presenting a comprehensive marketing strategy designed to promote and execute a specific event, incorporating branding, outreach, budgeting, and audience engagement, and had 550 participants. Each of the IMCE participants completed a 100-question marketing exam that tested knowledge of key marketing concepts, followed by presenting a prepared pitch deck to a judge, demonstrating both strategic thinking and communication skills.
Special thanks to Mr. Hodgins for his continued guidance, mentorship, and dedication throughout the preparation process, and to Ms. Rose for being a very supportive chaperone, ensuring that we had smooth coordination and helping create a positive and organized experience for us! Finally, warm thanks to Sofia for sharing this adventure with me.
Sofia Harberl:
Our trip to Atlanta for the DECA ICDC (International Career Development Conference) competition has been an unforgettable experience that I have learned so much from, and sincerely hope that I can do again next year. Joined by 26,000 competitors from around the world, I competed alongside like-minded students interested in all aspects of business: Business Management, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Hospitality, and Marketing. This competition was the culmination of an entire year’s worth of work in my chosen event of Retail Merchandising, an oral event that involves several rounds of simulated business scenarios and a 100-question marketing exam.
As a competitor at ICDC, I completed two roleplays and one exam in the preliminary round. Out of all of the competitors in my event, which had been whittled down nearly 100-fold by regional and provincial/statewide competition, I received three medals – one for my first roleplay, one for my exam, and one for my top overall performance – which I claimed on stage in the World Cup-hosting Mercedes-Benz Stadium. My scores in this preliminary round qualified me for the grand finale, for which I competed in a culminating roleplay, where I received recognition for my top-10 performance in this final round.
However, the most valuable thing I gained from this experience was not pieces of metal to hang around my neck or fancy titles on a piece of paper, but a lifetime’s worth of knowledge and new connections. I was able to network among some of the top business minds in the world, and spend a whole day learning from their experience. I was able to connect with new peers from all across the globe, and trade stories and momentos from their business journeys. Perhaps most importantly, I was able to connect with my friends and mentors: Tamsen Taylor and Ms. Rose Boudria, who have supported me throughout both this trip and the time before, and with whom I am extremely grateful and excited to share the rest of my Elmwood journey. I also would love to extend a very special appreciation to Mr. Hodgins and Raluca Voina, who sparked my passion for business with their own, and whose strong leadership of DECA and caring and patient attitudes have inspired me to reach for DECA and beyond.