By Janet Stoica

Last year, a teacher I know in my local school system asked me to be a judge at a competition for high school students at the DCU Center in Worcester. I enjoyed that competition so much that I enrolled as a judge again this year for the January 12th activity.

The event, entitled DECA (“Distributive Education Clubs of America”) District 7 Competition, involves students who prepare business presentations while in groups of two. They are given their assignment after they have arrived at the competition venue and must use their prep time wisely team-collaborating to not only prepare their marketing techniques but also to practice their public-speaking skills. The students are bussed in from high schools as far as Palmer to Grafton and all towns in-between. Judges are teachers, sales reps, managers, lawyers, and every profession in-between. 

The judges are seated in various large conference rooms awaiting pairs of student presenters who must use presentation standards established by DECA. Each presentation involves a scenario for marketing a product or service. These young women and men in attendance are dressed in business attire such as suits, business dresses, or jackets and ties.  Do teenagers really dress like this? Is this for real?  Yes, it most definitely is….seeing is believing, and immediately gives us judges a refreshingly excellent first impression of our future leaders of tomorrow. Most of these high schoolers are in their junior or senior years but a few are also freshmen and sophomores. I must give a large amount of credit to the freshmen and sophomores for their ability to qualify for this district event.

Once formal introductions are made by the students to the judges, much like that in real life if one were presenting an idea/product to a business, the students have up to 15 minutes to make their pitch. They review what they are about to present for their marketing goals and then dive into the salient points of their presentation. One student will begin the presentation and hand off the next section to their partner. After their address, judges ask the team prepared questions and listen intently to their responses. Students are then thanked for their time while judges, using an e-tablet or laptop, must then score the students on a scale of 1-8 (with 8 being the high score) on various aspects of their presentation skills. Judges’ comments are also encouraged and appreciated for the benefit of student review. 

I was blown away, once again, by the professionalism and imaginations of these future leaders of our country. Not only were they exact and extremely proficient in their presentations but their courtesy to one another as they finished each piece of their report was truly exceptional. Their parent(s) and/or caregiver(s) are to be commended for their teenager’s manners and mindset. Their instructors are to be praised for their coaching skills assisting our future leaders to stay on course and to the point. I mean, these students were extraordinary, they were stupendous, they were rock stars!  Of course I’m impressed and you would be too after seeing, reading, and hearing too much negative behavior that seems to permeate our society these days. 

Listening to the words and watching the behavior of all the young men and women at the DECA competition will remain with me for months to come. I was astounded by their competence, their mannerisms, and their style. I have truly been DECA-fied and hope to continue judging at this most important event which will always serve to rejuvenate my faith in our best and brightest younger generation. “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.”  Kofi Annan

Contact Janet at [email protected]