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Utica High School seniors Nicholas Welch and Yvette Orlowski celebrate their win.
Photo provided by Utica Community Schools
Henry Ford II seniors Danielle Melchior, Emma Barbura and Brooklyn Kelly placed in the top 20 in the Project Management Career Development event.
SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Utica High School is the DECA international winner for the first time in school history, and the Henry Ford II school store has placed in top 20.
Members of Utica Community Schools DECA (formerly the Distributive Education Clubs of America) joined 26,000 members at the DECA International Career Development Conference held April 26-29 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
The Utica High School team of Yvette Orlowski and Nicholas Welch earned first place in the School-Based Enterprise Retail competition for the first time in school history. They wrote a 25-page paper on the school store that qualified them for gold School-Based Enterprise certification. This allowed them to compete at the conference to attend the SBE Academy by presenting a 10-minute presentation.
Orlowski and Welch’s presentation focused on the Chief Connection school store at Utica High School. Their presentation focused on market planning, which includes customer profiles, market research and the financial success of the school store. The duo also came up with a unique Lego theme to show customer profiles for the students, staff and alumni. “The Lego Movie” quotation, “Everything is cool when you are part of a team,” showcased the school store’s teamwork atmosphere.
The pair competed two times, the first being their semifinal run where they competed against 40 teams in their heat, and the second being the finals with 20 teams in their category. The Utica High School marketing students are advised by business teacher Dana Boice.
Orlowski, a senior, said being a part of DECA has helped her grow in numerous ways and taught her how to be part of a team.
“Having the opportunity to go to ICDC was an honor. All of our hard work and dedication led us to be the one at DECA,” she said.
Welch, also a senior, said DECA ICDC was an amazing experience where he was able to meet new people from all over the country with similar interests.
“It felt very fulfilling to finish in first place on top of the wonderful memories I have made,” he said.
Boice said when their names were announced, at first she cried, then she was so happy and excited for the students.
“This team is the true meaning of hard work pays off,” she said.
In addition to the UHS first place finish, Henry Ford II High School placed in the top 20 of national finalists in the Project Management Career Development event. The Ford II team consisted of seniors Emma Barbura, Brooklyn Kelly and Danielle Melchior. The team’s advisers are Jennifer Milke and Nick Kawala.
