Students interested in marketing, finance, hospitality and management can now join more than 200,000 high school members around the world by becoming members of DECA.

DECA is a non-profit organization that offers a chance for students to showcase their business skills.

Revenia Lock is a new teacher to the school who wants to help any student who has a passion for business. Her master’s and certification in marketing have allowed her to introduce DECA to students.

“I think it’s important for every school to have a DECA organization because it gives students the opportunity to compete in business,” Lock said. “They get to meet students from all around the country and see how they are prepared in relation to other students in any of the business programs that we have here.”

To prep for competitions, students use role-play interviews to practice coming up with the best solutions regarding a variety of problematic scenarios. For example, those enrolled in the hotels and lodging category gather information to solve a variety of problems that hotel employees may face in their industry. A scenario they might have to come up with a solution to is overbooked rooms.

Other categories include human resources management, principles of business management and administration, principles of hospitality and tourism, sports and entertainment marketing, travel and tourism, etc.

Senior Katherine Aguilar, who is in Lock’s entrepreneurship class, was hesitant when first joining DECA. However, she went to the first meeting and found that she was genuinely interested in becoming a member.

“At first I thought DECA would be really boring and stiff and that it’d be all business related, but after I went to my first meeting, I really got to know what it was about and how it veered more toward marketing,” Aguilar said. “I’m enrolled in the fashion marketing category, so I think this will be really fun.”

In order to become a member, students need to attend meetings during A-block lunch on Fridays in room E205. They must also pay a $40 fee, however scholarship opportunities are available for students not able to pay the full amount.

“After you join, we get you signed up in the category that best interests you,” Lock said. “The goal is to have students prepare to roleplay in an area that they’re most interested in.”

Students can join DECA even if they are not in any business classes.

“My goal is to get students interested in businesses, and every student in here is a customer,” Lock said. “If you’re a customer that means you spend your money, whether it be on a item or on a place. With that said, I think that students should definitely look into DECA because they are all consumers who can gain more knowledge on what they buy or sell.”