Cleary University is proud to announce that members of its DECA chapter have qualified for the International Career Development Conference in Louisville, Kentucky in April.
Cleary students who placed in the top six at the DECA State Career Development Conference, securing a spot at the April competition, include:
- Matt Radjewski (Macomb) and Bryce Owens (Burton): Entrepreneurship: Starting a Business
- Brooke Trouten (Monroe) and Jordan Huenemann (Mt. Pleasant): Digital Marketing Strategies
- Veda Kania (Brighton): Fashion Merchandising and Marketing
“We are so proud of the performance of all 11 of the Cleary DECA students who competed,” announces Justine Defever, associate professor at Cleary and DECA co-advisor. “This was a tough competition; it was the largest one for Michigan Collegiate DECA in more than 30 years. Our students were competing against 230 students from 13 Michigan chapters, and their presentations were all exceptional.
“Dean Genei (Kelly Genei, dean of Undergraduate Studies at Cleary and DECA co-advisor) and I congratulate all 11 of our students for their dedication, diligence and determination,” Professor Defever says. “They fully embraced the spirit of the conference by participating in additional competitions, networking with students from across the state and modeling the Cleary Mind™ attributes in their real world scenarios.”
Cleary competed against DECA students from these universities: Central Michigan University, Delta College, Eastern Michigan University, Kettering University, Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, Northern Michigan University, Northwood University, Oakland University, University of Michigan, Wayne State University and Western Michigan University.
Cleary students competed in a wide variety of categories: business research, digital marketing strategies, entrepreneurship – starting a business, entrepreneurship operations, fashion merchandising and marketing, and marketing management.
“It was impressive to see how our students truly embodied The Cleary Mind™ attributes,” Professor Defever points out.
In addition to their outstanding performances, the Cleary DECA team had more wins to celebrate:
- Jacob Haley (Flint) was elected Secretary for Michigan Collegiate DECA’s Executive Board.
- Veda Kania and Aliya Ferrand (Fowlerville) won the community service competition.
“Year after year, our DECA team consistently exemplifies what it means to be burgeoning leaders in their respective industries,” announces Dean Genei.
Other students from Cleary who competed at the state conference are:
- Shaelyn Kao (Douliu, Yunlin, Taiwan) and Jacob Haley: Entrepreneurship – Starting a Business
- Chase Palmer (Macomb), Ryan Davis (Commerce Twp) and Carson Fulghum (Brighton): Business Research
- Aliya Ferrand: Entrepreneurship Operations
DECA officials expect more than 1,000 students from around the world will compete in the international competition in April.
DECA prepares college and high school emerging leaders and entrepreneurs throughout the world for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Its collegiate competitive events program allows students to test their experience, skills and knowledge while representing their university. They compete for top international honors in one of 25 different categories. Business and industrial leaders serve as judges for the competition.
Cleary established its DECA program six years ago. “We are excited to see the program growing so rapidly and with such great achievements in such a short time,” reports Dean Genei, who started the program at Cleary.
Cleary University offers a $4,000 DECA scholarship to a new undergraduate student who enrolls full-time at Cleary. The student must meet the following criteria: GPA of 2.5, participates in a high school DECA program, submits a letter of recommendation from a student advisor, will participate in DECA for four years at Cleary, and must be a full-time student at Cleary and maintain a 2.5 GPA. In addition to the $4,000 ($1,000 a year) scholarship, Cleary also offers a $10,000 scholarship ($2,500 a year) annually to one student who has met the same criteria as the $4,000 scholarship and has held a DECA state officer position or has advanced to a national or international competition.
Cleary also offers a DECA student at the university an opportunity to receive a $20,000 scholarship ($5,000 a year) by meeting all of the above listed criteria for the $4,000 scholarship and the $10,000 scholarship and has held a national officer position or placed first at a national or international DECA competition.
To learn more about DECA, send an email to jdefever@cleary.edu. For information on DECA scholarship opportunities, email admissions@cleary.edu.
Photo caption: Cleary DECA students competing at the state conference are (from left to right): Aliya Ferrand, Veda Kania, Matt Radjewski, Shaelyn Kao, Bryce Owens, Ryan Davis, Carson Fulghum, Jacob Haley, Chase Palmer, Brooke Trouten, and Jordan Huenemann.
