DECA competitions are on the horizon. Today, 40 students from Francis Howell Central will be traveling to the St. Louis Mills Mall for district competitions. Students have spent many long class periods studying for the upcoming test all participants take on district day.

Students have lost some time due to the recent snow days, but they all have continued to take practice test and participate in roll plays.

The competitors have somewhere around ten minutes to read the situations, know what the judges are looking for and prepare a presentation for their specific judges. Competitions require a variety of skills and students must be able to think on their feet, according to Mr. Steven Cross, DECA sponsor. He also says the more confident a person is on his/her topic, the higher the score he/she will receive.

“Students who succeed in DECA usually meet all criteria. They have unique ideas, along with good presentation skills. Winners must be persuasive and have good people skills,” said Cross.

The students’ preparation will now be challenged, and students will soon discover who will go on to nationals.