MHS student urges classmates to gain from technical-ed classes

Maricopa High student Eliana Alley believes fellow classmates should take advantage of Career Technical Education opportunities presented to them.  

Alley, 16, a junior at Maricopa High, is a DECA state officer, a small-business owner and chief of staff at the school’s Air Force Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, comes from a small city, where she says she did not have many options when it came to CTE classes. 

“We didn’t have a lot of opportunities,” Alley said of her hometown of Holbrook. 

Holbrook is approximately 90 miles east of Flagstaff with a population of roughly 5,000.  

“You had welding, fire science. That’s it,” Alley said with a laugh. “There wasn’t much.” 

“The most entertainment we had there was a movie theater, one movie per week,” Alley continued. “I came here and, you really do get spoiled because I came here and was like, ‘There’s nothing to do in Maricopa,’ and then I just think back to, well, I used to just kick rocks and say, ‘Wow, it’s such a beautiful day outside.’” 

Now she has more. 

After moving to Maricopa in her freshman year, Alley quickly became comfortable in her classes and joined DECA, a program that focuses on entrepreneurship, marketing and all things business, and AFJFROTC, a program that helps teach students leadership and other life skills. 

“I think the reason I joined both of those programs is there is really good structure and discipline,” Alley said.  

DECA and AFJROTC added to more than just her normal school day, she said. 

“We get a lot of opportunities to do community events,” Alley said of AFJROTC. 

An example is the Veteran’s Day Parade.  

“The reason I love marketing so much is, even if I don’t plan on having a big career in marketing, it teaches me so many other aspects of business and how to act in a workspace,” she said. 

“If you have a vague idea of what you want to do, I think you need to try to pursue it, and if not, take a class that will advance you in any career that you go into.”  

If a student wants to be a chef, culinary class is available, for example. A student who wants to work on computers can take information technology classes.   

DECA aided her small business, RJA Enterprises, which makes specialized T-shirts, other apparel and banners. 

Alley says she creates graphic banners, window decals and other apparel for local businesses, the school district and even city organizations. Among her current focuses is graduation signs that class of 2023 students can put in their yards. 

Owning a business and taking part in a program focused on entrepreneurship are mutually beneficial, she said. Alley explained that she would learn something at school that she could use to improve her company, or something she learns from working that helps in school. 

Several CTE classes allow students to earn certificates during high school, including information technology and stagecraft.  

“If you are in the (AFJROTC) program for three years … you join in (the Air Force) as an E-3 instead of an E-1, and you get higher pay since you have already gone through the basics of drill and other things like that,” she said. 

Outside of school, DECA and its competitions help students gain experience. Participants receive a script. It has what a company name, the judge’s role, what the problem is, and what they would like to see. 

“You sit down and have five minutes to think of a plan, make some visuals if you’d like, and you go and sit in front of a judge,” Alley said. “You shake their hand and say, ‘May I be seated?’ and you treat them like they are a real business professional.” 

Alley explained that some of her fellow DECA members have come back from real job interviews confident they’d performed well because they practiced at competitions.  

There are multiple levels of competition in DECA, including districts and state. 

At a recent DECA state competition, where Alley became a DECA state officer, she had many classmates and teachers rooting for her, holding signs, “Rally for Alley,” as she competed from her “Cars” theme booth.  

“If you win at state, you go to internationals,” she said. 

Alley plans to take part in an international DECA competition in Orlando at the end of April, her second international competition. She attended last year’s in Atlanta. 

“I think that if you pay attention to your classes and you really do your best, at some point in your life, they will come into play,” Alley said. “My recommendation to all students is take the opportunities that present themselves to you.”