From March 9th to the 11th, members of LCN DECA who placed at Districts made it down to Detroit to compete against students across Michigan in a competition of business knowledge and applications. Two students, Shelby Higel and Emma Bauer will be traveling to Orlando for Nationals in the spring. 

   On Thursday, our students gathered at noon and travelled to Downtown Detroit, stopping at the Marriot hotel in the Renaissance Center. They unpacked in their rooms and went to Huntington Place to learn how their events would proceed the next day. They learned their times and places for their events, and went back to Marriot.  

   On Friday, LCN went back to Huntington Place for the big day of competition. The students performed two roleplays on different situations that their category of business would encounter, explaining their solutions to such problems. Some students also had to take a test on either economics or math. At the end of the day, a general ceremony took place, the highlight of that event being the stellar performance of a skilled hypnotist.  

   On Saturday, the students gathered at Huntington Place for the last time, to watch the awards ceremony. There, we realized that most of LCN would not be able to travel to Nationals. Students from the schools of Troy, Troy Athens, Detroit Catholic Central, Utica Ford, and Novi repeatedly placed top in the competition. 

   When Mr. Lamberti was asked for his thoughts, he said; “I am proud of LCN DECA and all of its members. Our members allowed us to collect 2 awards for membership growth. We had 6 people medal out of 17 which is great considering we are going against the top in the state. Two members will fly down to Orlando from April 21-26 and compete at Internationals. Overall, we worked hard to get here and will continue to grow and improve in the future. “ 

   The LCN students who attended States are listed here.  

   Madisen Craig
   Marissa Skoney
   Shelby Higel
   Emma Bauer
   Mia Sheldon
   Tillie Sheldon
   Kayden Berger
   Annabella Stout
   Claire Allison
   Abygale Kovacs
   Brooklyn Lewis
   Kyle Clayton
   Connor Clayton
   Karim Tchakoute
   Elijah Ostling
   Jackson Fraser
   Jacob Kuchenmeister 

   Considering that most of the LCN lineup at Detroit was made up of first-year DECA members, the fact that some were finalists for the coveted “DECA Glass,” a plaque that celebrates the opportunity to compete on a national level, makes our showing an impressive effort regardless. We did not bring home a wide array of champions, but we did bring medals and put in work all throughout the weekend, even as the school was not operating. 

   Any aspiring entrepreneur, or students who are interested in marketing and/or business are encouraged to join DECA. The advisor for LCN DECA is Mr. Joshua Lamberti, who can be reached in most days after school, in room 222. 

   Congratulations to our DECA finalists, and to the duo moving onto Internationals. The awards received are: 

   Shelby Higel & Emma Bauer – State Finalists in their Business Plan Presentation 

   Madisen Craig & Marissa Skoney – State Finalists and Highest Role Play Medal in Entrepreneurship Team Event 

   Tille & Mia Sheldon – State Finalists in Business Law and Ethics Team Event 

   Kayden Berger – Accepted our plaque for growing our chapter by over 5 members 

   Certificate – Chapter Membership Award for growing by over 20 members 

   Certificate – Gold Certification of 50 Page Business Plan