For the City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Wisconsin Rapids DECA members earned the organization’s highest honors at DECA’s annual International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Atlanta, GA, on April 23-26.

Students receiving recognition at the international level were:

Top 18 Finalists

Business Solutions Project – Isabelle Rasmussen, Emma Rokus, and Fiona Gaugert

Sports and Entertainment Marketing – Sydney Seavey

Second Place

Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making – Madelyn Hepp and Aria Fischer

“During the school year, approximately 100,000 of DECA’s 160,000 high school student members take part in the organization’s competitive events program, allowing them to compete for local, regional and state titles. The competitions are designed to simulate real-life business scenarios and test students’ academic understanding and skills development. The top state winners put their talents to the test during the program’s final round of competition in Atlanta. The DECA International Career Development Conference was the pinnacle of competition where nearly 20,000 students vied for international honors. Over $300,000 in scholarships and awards were presented to students and teachers for their achievements,” a program release stated.

“Maddie and I have won multiple events as competitive partners since we have been working together since middle school.  But, winning second place at ICDC was definitely an unreal moment,” said Aria Fischer, who was recognized at ICDC.

Her partner, also recognized at ICDC, Madelyn Hepp, explains that, “We took third place in Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making at the State Career Development Conference, so we went into ICDC wanting to improve our scores.  We knew our test and first role play during the preliminary round must have been decent to advance to finals, but our role play in finals was more challenging.”

In addition, students Amelia Marti and Isabelle Rasmussen are currently serving as members of Wisconsin DECA’s Team 57 State Officer Team.

This year, chapter advisors Ashley Tessmer, Brett Weinfurter, and Nick Davis took 27 student students to Atlanta, GA to compete at ICDC.  Those attending the conference had to advance in competition from both the District and State Career Development Conferences.  The District 2 Career Development Conference is held at Mid-State Technical College with the top three students in each event automatically qualifying for the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) held in February in Lake Geneva. At SCDC, the top six individuals or teams in each event advance to ICDC.

Since 2018, 12 Lincoln High School students have been recognized on stage at ICDC with 11 of those students moving on to finals.  In addition to Madelyn and Aria, this year’s Business Solutions Project presented by Isabelle Rasmussen, Emma Rokus, and Fiona Gaugert advanced to finals with a paper and presentation that was completed in conjunction with the Wisconsin Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Additionally, Sydney Seavey also advanced to finals in Sports and Entertainment Marketing.  All four finalists placed in the top 18 in the world.  Of the over 7,500 student members in Wisconsin, only seven individuals or teams were recognized in the top 3 in the world and able to bring the coveted DECA Glass.

Wisconsin Rapids DECA chapter is home to nearly 300 student members.