They were always here – the kid who doodles logos in her notebook, the one who wants to know how the pitch lands and how the money works – and in two years, DECA has given them their people, their place, and a ticket to compete against 22,000 peers at the International Career Development Conference in Atlanta.
From Zero to ICDC
Two years ago, The Meadows School had no DECA program. Zero students. Zero Glass trophies. What it did have was a community of kids who were quietly hungry for exactly that kind of challenge, students interested in startups and brand strategies, but who hadn’t yet found their people or their place on campus.
Fast forward to today: 66 students, 22 top awards at the Nevada State Career Development Conference (SCDC), and a winning cohort heading to Atlanta this April to compete at ICDC – the International Career Development Conference – against 22,000 peers from around the globe. Not bad for a program that didn’t exist the day before yesterday.
Building the Runway
When I joined The Meadows as Director of Innovation, my mission was to build vertical coursework in Computer Science, Engineering, and Business/Entrepreneurship inside a school with a proud liberal arts identity. That meant carving out space for learners who had always been here but didn’t always feel seen or served: the entrepreneurially-minded kid, the one who doodles logos in the margins of her notebook, the one who wants to know how the money works and how the pitch lands. DECA became their co-curricular home. And once we opened the door, they came flooding through.
What DECA Actually Looks Like
DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management – the competitions span an enormous range. This year, our students tackled all of it: business plans (sports operations research, innovation and international business plans), outreach initiatives (financial literacy, community awareness), integrated marketing campaigns, financial consulting presentations, professional selling pitches, and impromptu case study events where the only prep you can do is train your brain to analyze, structure, and deliver under pressure, in real time.
The Prep: Months of Polish Before the Podium
The sequence of our preparation mattered. We started by viewing sample videos on YouTube from past winners. Then we moved to practicing scenarios and model pitches, learning to structure responses around DECA’s performance indicators. Then peer feedback – lots of “wait, say that part again but without saying ‘ummm’ – and draw a better logo!” Then something genuinely new: AI coaching via Flint, which gave students concrete, objective feedback measured directly against performance indicators. Not “good job!” — actual critique. Then our Meadows Mock DECA: a full-scale, off-campus simulation with expert judges from our parent community and greater Las Vegas. Real judges and real pressure. The dress rehearsal that made the culminating competition possible.
And finally, SCDC. One thousand competitors. Professional attire. Schedules to navigate, nerves to manage, presentations to deliver. Our students walked in polished and walked out with 22 awards and a host of finalist medallions.
The Skills That Stick
The trophies are great, but what I’m proudest of is the portfolio of portable skills our students built along the way: how to research and synthesize, structure an argument for a skeptical audience, build a compelling deck, and stand in front of a room of strangers, all experts in their fields, and close the deal.
From our post-competition survey, students felt strong in presentation skills. The area they flagged for more work? Financials. I love that they said that. So right now, in the weeks before ICDC, we’re digging into the accounting equation, balance sheets, and income statements – using Enron as our case study. Nothing makes numbers come alive quite like a cautionary tale involving billions in losses, creative accounting, and the spectacular implosion of a company that once called itself the most innovative in America. Ethics are probably the most important part of the lesson.
Onward to Atlanta
This April, our top competitors head to ICDC in Atlanta against 22,000 peers from across the globe. The competition will rise significantly. And that’s the whole point: going beyond the walls of our campus, then beyond the border of our state, is what it takes to understand your true potential. You can’t calibrate yourself against the best of the best without actually standing in the room with them.
Two years ago, zero students. Today, 66 students, 22 DECA Glass awards, and a cohort of young entrepreneurs who know how to prepare, polish, and pitch. Students who found their people and their place.
Atlanta, here we come.