PHS Students Attend International DECA Conference

The International DECA Conference took place in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo credited to Pixabay.

The International DECA Conference took place in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo credited to Pixabay.

Lucy Arnold, Editor in Chief

Several PHS DECA members just returned to Gig Harbor after attending the DECA International Career Development Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The conference effectively ran between April 23 and April 26, giving students the opportunity to participate in competitive events or the Emerging Leader Series.

Sophomore Payge Palagyi was one of the PHS students who competed at the conference. She and her partner, Casey Wagner, were able to present their stock portfolio at the national level. Their project focused on high-risk stock paid in dividends, and it ultimately proved very successful, earning the team 14th place out of thousands of submissions.

Palagyi and Wagner did so well in part because they did not let the high-stakes situation worry them too much.

“The competition was really stressful at first, but leading up to our presentation, we started to relax and were able to go into the presentation confident,” said Palagyi.

Senior and president of the school DECA club Sara Undem did not take part in any of the cometitive events, instead participating in the Emerging Leader Series. This part of the conference was designed to help students gain 21st century skills in communication, collaboration, teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity.

“Each day of the leadership academy, we were put into different groups and went around to lots of different conferences,” said Undem. “I really enjoyed getting to meet people from all over the country.”

Aside from the learning opportunities offered by the events of the conference, the chance to soak up the atmosphere of a new, vibrant city was very exciting and stimulating for conference attendees.

“I thought that everything about the conference was really fun!” said Palagyi. “I really liked exploring Nashville and getting to know everyone who came on the trip.”
Overall, the conference proved to be a great success. Congratulations to the DECA club for learning and making a mark at the national and international levels!