By Angela Rodriguez | Ensign College, UT
To prepare for the team case studies at Utah Collegiate DECA's association conference, my teammate and I participated in a practice session organized by the president of our school’s DECA chapter.
The session was designed to simulate the actual competition experience closely. A room was set up for participants to prepare, complete with a timer to simulate real competition conditions. We were given one hour to review and resolve the case study. After the preparation time, the president entered the room and acted as the judge, giving us 15 minutes to present our solution, just as we would at the actual competition.
This was my first DECA competition experience, and it was both exciting and challenging. While my teammate and I were in the room analyzing the case study and preparing our presentation, we experienced a roller coaster of emotions, ranging from excitement to feeling overwhelmed.
Because it was our first time competing in this event, we were unsure how to begin and initially struggled to organize our time. However, as we settled into the moment, things started to flow more naturally. What helped us the most was talking through the case study together, brainstorming ideas and dividing the work equally.
By the end of the preparation time, we felt that we had done a solid job. During the presentation, we clearly explained the reasoning behind our decisions. We also made a conscious effort to speak slowly to meet the time requirement. Our chapter president enjoyed our presentation and offered helpful feedback and tips for improvement.
Overall, I enjoyed the experience, but I have to admit that we became a bit too confident. When the real competition arrived, it was far more intense than we expected.
