The COVID-19 pandemic shut down numerous organizations on campus and beyond, including Central Michigan University’s chapter of the Distributive Education Clubs of America, better known as DECA. In the years after the start of the pandemic, most of the members graduated and DECA had an incredibly hard time recruiting. This meant that the current members had to build up the program themselves.

“We’re just getting a bank account back started because that was shut down” President Ashley Brown said. “Everything just kind of fizzled out so it really feels like starting from ground zero.”

DECA is an organization that spans the globe and helps students develop skills used in the professional world: Skills like planning, speaking, improvisation and much more that students can use no matter what profession they go into.

Brown said that they have just one member who is now a grad student who was a part of DECA before the pandemic. Other than that, they rely on their own leadership and the help from their faculty advisers, Dr. Michele Bartosek and Professor John Gustincic.

“For 11 of us, it was our first year doing collegiate DECA and for a good handful of us, it was our first time doing DECA period.” Treasurer Alexis Joslin said.

While some members of CMU DECA had previous experience in high school, others joined without any prior training or background in it. Recruiting this time around was also very difficult since the club was not very well established. Joslin remembers going to Target, buying a large amount of sidewalk chalk and getting to work.

DECA often gets attributed to something for people interested in business, finance or entrepreneurship, but DECA can be for anyone. Brown studies biochemistry and is pre-med. Social Media Manager Kifer Klee studies law. People from any major or area of study are welcome to join DECA and build up their professional skills.

“I think the biggest thing you get from DECA is marketing skills.” Vice President Hunter Waterstrat said. “No matter what you’re going to have to do, whatever sort of field you work in, you’re going to have to be able to market yourself.”

Currently, the CMU chapter of DECA is 12 strong, and eight of those members were finalists in their most recent competition. Those who were finalists qualify for the DECA International Career Development Conference on April 15-18 in Orlando, Florida, where they will be facing off against students from around the country.

At DECA competitions students present case studies about a variety of topics to judges who then ask questions about it and the issues that might come up. Competitors then must think on the fly and answer questions they previously did not know about. Joslin describes DECA as a “professional improv club” because you never know what prompt you might get. Students can compete in individual competitions or team-based ones where they work together.

“Such a big part of DECA is just confidence” Klee said. “Walk in there with confidence, shake their hand with confidence.”

There are certain performance indicators that competitors are judged on, much of which is how you present yourself and your case study and address the problems that the judges might bring up.

Currently, the CMU chapter of DECA does not have a lot for potential new recruits to participate in since they are on to internationals, but they are always looking for people who might be interested. Now that they have a year under their belt, the executive board members are confident that they will be much more prepared for next year.

For more information about DECA and to keep up with their competitions, follow their Instagram, cmudeca, or visit their table at the next CMU Mainstage event.