On March 4, junior Nahla Mokkath made DGS history. At the state DECA competition, Mokkath won two events: Sports and Entertainment Marketing and the Business Solutions Project, becoming the first ever two-time state champion in DECA for one season.

Mokkath’s hard work included a 20-page paper, multiple presentations and a 100-question test. Her Business Solutions Project, which took around five months to complete, involved Mokkath’s partnership with a real business and conquering any problems that business might face.

“I focused on marketing, building customer relationships and increasing customer memberships. I created flyers, improved social media, created a promotional video and then created a rewards-based program for customers to engage in. I also created a weight-loss challenge so customers could compete against other customers to increase their health,” Mokkath said.

For that project, Mokkath didn’t have to compete at sectionals – she only had to present her work at the state competition. For her Sports and Entertainment Marketing event; however, she got 10th at sectionals – the last spot to qualify for state.

“That’s a role-play event, and you also have to take a test based on marketing. So you would get a topic right there, and you would have 10 minutes to create a marketing plan and then present it to a judge. I’ve always been good at public speaking, especially just problem-solving, so that one I felt good about, and then luckily I got a 73% on the test and you need a 70% to place,” Mokkath said.

Going from 10th place at sectionals to winning state in two events is an impressive feat, and according to DECA advisor and business teacher Paul Krick, Mokkath’s determination is what helped her accomplish this.

“She’s very focused on what she wants and she’s also very willing to learn and accept criticism and suggestions. She accepts that and improves; she takes it in and makes her product better,” Krick said.

On top of her personal achievements, Mokkath is a strong team player and uses her business knowledge to help other DECA members.

“Her enthusiasm to get everyone involved has an impact. She’s very conscious about caring about other people’s thoughts, caring about everyone doing better than they did in the past and trying to get the best out of everybody,” Krick said.

Placing first at state also qualified Mokkath for the national DECA conference in Orlando, Florida. The conference ran from April 21-25, and Mokkath and three other DGS students competed alongside about 22,000 students from across the country. Although Mokkath did not place at nationals, she is thankful for DECA’s impact on her life and looks forward to competing next year.

“[DECA has] made me a more confident person in myself, and no matter where I’m going in life, I will always need business; business will always be there. By doing the sports entertainment event – role play, problem-solving – that one helped me think fast and learn, and then with the business solutions project, I got to see the inside view of how a business works and how much time it takes to improve a business. I’ll always remember those and this project when thinking back to high school,” Mokkath said.