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Maricopa High School’s Maricopa DECA competed at state last weekend and came home with several noteworthy wins.

Their team of competitors included Alen Nezirevic, Alex Salgado, Anneliese Coleman, Anthony Morris, Arlette Torres, Brendan Maxwell – Chapter Vice President of Career Development, Cipriano Childers, Daniela Smith – Chapter Vice President of Sales, David Henderson, Dylan Guaderrama, Elise Brown Thunder, Hannah Paul Gindiri, Jasmine Ngo, Jayde Maglothin, Johnathan Reale, Jordan Reed, Josie Ormsby, Landen Thomas, Ly’Zhai Wilford, Nathan Hanna, Nathan Wallin, Sarah Hymer, Sebastian Calderwood, Steel Lewis, Vanity Chavez, and William Schroder.

MHS hit a record for state test medalists with students scoring in the top 10 percent of all test takers in their categories. MHS also brought home role play medals, awarded to students with the top presentation score in their event. Finalists proceeded to the next level of competition, and students who placed in the top 4 overall in their events qualified for international competition and will be heading to Orlando in April.

Joy Newey – Test medal
Jordan Reed – Test medal
Nicholas Sanchez, First-year competitor – Test medal
Olivia Healey-Martin, Chapter Vice President of Leadership – Test medal
John Jackson and Nicholas Perez – Finalists in Financial Team Decision-making
Juni Hall, First-year competitor – Finalist in Principles of Hospitality, 4th place overall
Yasmeen Hanania, Chapter Vice President of Marketing – Finalist in Financial Consulting, 2nd place overall
Emma Wrenn, First-year competitor – Role play medal, Finalist in Principles of Hospitality, 3rd place overall
Nadia Chacon and Anelaya Vasquez, First-year competitors – Role play medal, Finalists in Business Law and Ethics Team Decision-making, 2nd place overall
Freya Abraham, Chapter President – Test medal, Role play medal, Finalist in Business Services Marketing, 1st place overall

In addition, Maricopa DECA was recognized with five state-level chapter awards and had their School Based Enterprise gold certified. Project managers Daniela Smith, Chapter VP of Sales, and Chantel Holguin, Chapter VP of Finance, will be representing MHS’s student store at internationals. Chapter VP of Marketing Yasmeen Hanania was elected to Arizona DECA State Office at the conference, and will be representing Maricopa’s district in 2019-2020. Maricopa DECA’s Chapter Advisor Julian Rodriguez, previously named Best Advisor in DECA’s Western Region, received the Rising Star award, given to exemplary new advisors.

Maricopa DECA is a chapter of an international organization dedicated to preparing emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.

Information provided by Freya Abraham, Maricopa DECA chapter president.

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