On March 7-8, the DGS Distributive Clubs of America (DECA) team competed at the IHSA state competition. Juniors Mustafa Mohajir and Ali Abdullah took second in Independent Business Plan, qualifying them for the national competition in April.

Additionally, senior and DECA president Sophia Lodhi placed 10th in the event of Professional Selling. Lodhi was double-entered at state and also competed in Food Marketing.

The team took 27 students to state, a much larger number than in previous years. This will help build the program for the future as many of the successful competitors, including Mohajir and Abdullah, are first-year team members.

“We had a lot of first-year members make it to state this year, which is amazing. The hard work and dedication each person has for DECA is just wonderful, it’s truly a community,” Lodhi said.

According to their official website, the DECA organization aims to develop future leaders in business, finance, hospitality and marketing fields. Members of the club compete in different entrepreneurship events, where their work must be judged and ranked to move on to the next level of competition.

“DECA has given me the skills I’ll need in the future. From how to think outside of the box to solve a problem to how to present myself in professional settings, I can say with certainty DECA has set me up for success,” Lodhi said.

While this was Lodhi’s last competition within the DECA organization, she has high hopes for the program at DGS in future years.

“I’m excited to watch the program grow. I’m very proud of my officer board this year, we put in a ton of work to increase membership and participation and it truly shows. I’m excited to hopefully hear about more state champs in the years to come,” Lodhi said.