Issaquah High School DECA
2020 DECA State Competition!
This year record breaking for the Issaquah DECA Club. With fears about COVID-19 hanging over our heads, the group showed tremendous resiliciency and professionalism, competing one week before the schools closed. We set or met records in numerous categories!
Congrats to all of the students! We are all so proud of you, and want to thank the many, many people who help our club, whether mentoring, judging, helping us adminstratively, or anything!
- Most students at State, with 84
- 32 Finalists, or top performers!
- 27 students qualified for ICDC
- 6 State Championships including:
- Ananya Sahoo & Brendan Schaller - Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making
- Nicole Lee & Clara Wolff - Marketing Management Team Decision Making
- Xander Lau - Quick Serve Restaurant Management
- Madi Yeh - Business Growth Plan
- Nadeen Radi & Romana Vasyleha - Independent Business Plan
- Xander Lau, Alyssa Winterbauer, & Jasmine Nie - Community Awareness Project
Congrats to all of the students! We are all so proud of you, and want to thank the many, many people who help our club, whether mentoring, judging, helping us adminstratively, or anything!
Ishaan Sharma (2nd place in the World!) and Xander Yanni (Top 20 finish!) were the finalists representing IHS DECA on stage in Orlando this year! Congrats Ishaan and Xander!!!
The 2019 ICDC Delegation
From April 26th to May 1st, the Issaquah DECA Club attended DECA’s International Career Development Conference in Orlando, FL. We brought 29 students and 5 very tired adults. All told, ICDC featured 21,000+ students from around the world, competing in a variety of business-themed competitive events. DECA events started this year with 222,000 students world-wide, so even making it to ICDC is a huge accomplishment. This was the largest group IHS has taken to ICDC in as long as anyone can remember.
The students had a fantastic (and sleep deprived) time, and we had some amazing success:
If you know Ishaan or Xander, please congratulate them! It is a huge accomplishment!
I want to thank all of the amazing people who make DECA club a possibility: Cheryl Furey for helping me every step of the way; Susan Zantello for teaching two months of my classes this year; the amazing support from administration (especially Margaret Pfeifle, Lori Benedict, Cathie Foote, Laura Couty, and Lisa Hollingsworth); our CTE department (Leshsa, Lisa, and Jennifer!!!) all of the amazing parent and community volunteers who help as judges and mentors; Nicky Harrington, Kelly Crickmore, Kristal Bowmer-Vath, and Cynthia Gotuzzo for being rock star chaperones on the trip; ASB and the Issaquah Booster Club for both helping us materially and mentally; and the entire IHS staff for only getting mildly annoyed when DECA students are on a field trip every other week.
The students had a fantastic (and sleep deprived) time, and we had some amazing success:
- Ishaan Sharma came in 2nd place in the world in the Principles of Business Management and Administration event.
- Xander Yanni finished top-20 in the world in the Business Services Marketing event.
If you know Ishaan or Xander, please congratulate them! It is a huge accomplishment!
I want to thank all of the amazing people who make DECA club a possibility: Cheryl Furey for helping me every step of the way; Susan Zantello for teaching two months of my classes this year; the amazing support from administration (especially Margaret Pfeifle, Lori Benedict, Cathie Foote, Laura Couty, and Lisa Hollingsworth); our CTE department (Leshsa, Lisa, and Jennifer!!!) all of the amazing parent and community volunteers who help as judges and mentors; Nicky Harrington, Kelly Crickmore, Kristal Bowmer-Vath, and Cynthia Gotuzzo for being rock star chaperones on the trip; ASB and the Issaquah Booster Club for both helping us materially and mentally; and the entire IHS staff for only getting mildly annoyed when DECA students are on a field trip every other week.
The 2019 Team at SCDC
The first weekend in March the IHS DECA club competed at our state competition. We had 69 students competing in 56 different events. Many of these events have as many of 80 competitors entered, and the top 6 or 7 advance on to ICDC. “Finalists” are also recognized, who have achieved a top score in one of the categories, but did not end up in the top 7.
I want to thank all of the various people who have made this season a possibility. We have amazing sponsors, incredible chaperones, great parents, a fantastic group of Mentors, remarkable Issaquah Boosters, school office staff that we could not operate without, and the ever-supportive CTE Department at the Issaquah School District. In particular, I want to thank my partner-in-crime, Cheryl Furey, for the myriad of ways she supports the DECA program. Thank you to everyone!
Here is a picture of the team there right after the Awards Ceremony! Sorry if our trip disrupted any of our classes.
- We had 23 students honored as finalists, with 15 students qualifying for ICDC in 19 different events!
- Altai Yildirim was the State Champion in both of his events!
- Issac Andersen, Jenna Heesacker, and Sam Andersen were State Champions in the Buying and Merchandising Event!
- Altai Yildirim, Muskaan Agarwal, Isaac Andersen, and Jenna Heesacker each qualified for two different events at ICDC. In my time at Issaquah, only one other student has ever done that. Four of them did it this year!
- On top of all the qualifiers, 13 Issaquah students finished in the top 3 of their event.
- Rohan Vaidya, the Area 4 DECA president, also had an amazing impact on the WA DECA leadership team. He represented IHS (and all of Washington) well in all his presentations and behind the scene’s organizing, and then also proposed and implemented two new elements: a new vision scholarship and key additions to the student experience at the Awards Ceremony.
I want to thank all of the various people who have made this season a possibility. We have amazing sponsors, incredible chaperones, great parents, a fantastic group of Mentors, remarkable Issaquah Boosters, school office staff that we could not operate without, and the ever-supportive CTE Department at the Issaquah School District. In particular, I want to thank my partner-in-crime, Cheryl Furey, for the myriad of ways she supports the DECA program. Thank you to everyone!
Here is a picture of the team there right after the Awards Ceremony! Sorry if our trip disrupted any of our classes.
Altai Yildirim was State Champion in his Human Resources Role Play! He was State Champion in BOTH his events!
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Altai Yildirim and Muskaan Agarwal were State Champions in their Independent Business Plan! Muskaan also qualified for ICDC in her Financial Consulting Events. #PowerTeam!
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Sam Andersen, Jenna Heesacker, and Isaac Andersen took home FIRST PLACE in the Business Services Operation Research Event! Congrats team!!
Jenna and Isaac also took 3rd place in their Business Law and Ethics Team Role Play! Unstoppable!
Jenna and Isaac also took 3rd place in their Business Law and Ethics Team Role Play! Unstoppable!
Alyssa Winterbauer, Siena Gaston, and Jasmine Nie took 2nd Place in the Community Service Project, the highest score for this Chapter Event our school has ever received! Congrats!
Having fun at our Chapter Dinner!
Grace Chen and Muskaan Agarwal
2nd Place - Finance Operations Research Event
2018 ICDC - Atlanta, GA
2018 ICDC Finalists
Muskaan Agarwal, Grace Chen, Dawson Oen, Ananya Sahoo, Olivia Morgan
2018 Delegation to ICDC
The Eagles have landed!
The IHS DECA Club went to Atlanta for the International Career Development Conference. It was an incredible experience, and the students demonstrated their professionalism and knowledge through a series of business-based, academic competitions.
This year:
The IHS DECA Club went to Atlanta for the International Career Development Conference. It was an incredible experience, and the students demonstrated their professionalism and knowledge through a series of business-based, academic competitions.
This year:
- IHS DECA brought 27 students to ICDC
- IHS DECA saw 5 students place as Finalists (matching last years record breaking year!)
- Muskaan Agarwal
- Grace Chen
- Dawnson Oen
- Ananya Sahoo
- Olivia Morgan
- Also, Grace and Muskaan came in 2nd place in the world for Finance Operation Research Event!
- That is the highest result for Issaquah DECA in a decade!
The 2018 DECA Team at SCDC
Top results from this year's State Competition!
The following Students were finalists, indicating top scores in an event
Fly, Eagles, Fly!
- Wyatt Callahan & Dylan Valdez - State Champions in Finance Operations Research Event
- Kyle Millis & Avery Tan - State Champions in Marketing Management Team Decision Making
- Muskaan Agarwal & Grace Chen - 2nd Place in Finance Operations Research Event
- Claire Kaill - 2nd Place in Principles of Business Management and Adminstration
- Olivia Morgan & Ananya Sahoo - 4th Place in Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making
- Jun Ahn - 5th Place in Principles of Business Management and Adminstration
- Rohan Vaidya - 5th Place in Restaurant and Food Service Management Series
- Amaya Kejriwal, Alyssa Winterbauer, & Chris Leu - 6th Place in Buying and Merchandising Operations Research Event
- Lauren Milne - 6th Place in Business Growth Plan
- Brian Zehnpfennig - 6th Place in Hospitality & Tourism Operation Research Event
- Isaac Andersen - 7th Place in Marketing Communication Series Event
The following Students were finalists, indicating top scores in an event
- Dawson Oen
- Trevor Mele
- Peter Orfanos
- Mary DeCaprio
- Callie Mejia
- Sravani Nanduri
- Claire Siefkes
- Emma Smith
- Altai Yildirim
- Mia Sunday
- Adya Mohapatra
- Karen Juhn
- Jenna Heesacker
- Dani Madan
- Ogedei Gantumaur
Fly, Eagles, Fly!
IHS DECA at Area 2018
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2017 ICDC Finalists
Rohan Vaidya, Samantha Sato, Nicole Kay, Aashika Jhawar, Sharan Jhangiani
2017 Delegation to ICDC
Issaquah DECA has arrived!
First, I want to again say how UNSPEAKABLY grateful Issaquah DECA is for the tremendous support of the IHS Booster Club this year. They have truly made this year one of the most special in recent memory.
The IHS DECA Club went to Anaheim for the International Career Development Conference. It was an incredible experience, and the students demonstrated their professionalism and knowledge through a series of business-based, academic competitions.
This year:
We want to thank everyone in the building who has helped make this year’s success a possibility.
First, I want to again say how UNSPEAKABLY grateful Issaquah DECA is for the tremendous support of the IHS Booster Club this year. They have truly made this year one of the most special in recent memory.
The IHS DECA Club went to Anaheim for the International Career Development Conference. It was an incredible experience, and the students demonstrated their professionalism and knowledge through a series of business-based, academic competitions.
This year:
- IHS DECA brought 27 students to ICDC (up from 20 last year and 3 two years ago)
- IHS DECA saw 5 students place as Finalists (up from 1 total in the past 5 years)
- Sharan Jhangiani
- Aashika Jhawar
- Samantha Sato
- Nicole Kay
- Rohan Vaidya
- We saw 3 Top 10 finishers (our first in recent memory!)
- Sharan Jhangiani
- Nicole Kay
- Samantha Sato
We want to thank everyone in the building who has helped make this year’s success a possibility.
- To everyone in the admin office (and in particular to Margaret, Jill, Laura, Cathie) who make all of the logistics possible: we couldn’t do any of it without you.
- To all of the fantastic teachers at this school who prepare these students to be their best in a variety of ways, and then are so flexible when these students need to miss class: thank you for your support.
- To the incredible chaperones who have helped with many trips this year (Jamie Olson, Nicole Harrington, Kelly Crickmore, Michael Steffan, Kristi Hardy, Sarah Orton, Cheryl Furey): the kids (and I appreciate everything you do to make the trip safe and fun.
- And to Cheryl Furey, who works tirelessly side-by-side with me to help prepare these kids, and who holds them accountable and lifts them up each and every day: words cannot do justice to how much we owe you.
- To our incredible mentors, parents and business professionals who meet with these students throughout the year to coach them and give them feedback on their projects!
- I’m sure I’m forgetting people! So many people have touched these kids’ lives: THANK YOU!
Aashika Jhawar and Daley Potter: our INCREDIBLE Co-presidents, whose tremendous leadership and hard work helped inspire Issaquah DECA to new heights!
The 2017 DECA Team at SCDC
We had great success, and had students place as finalists in 27 event. This is a significant increase from prior years. Even better, 21 students qualified for the International Career Development Conference, with one student qualifying in two events!
Here are the student qualifiers!
Go Issaquah DECA!
Here are the student qualifiers!
- Daley Potter – 1st in State in Business Service Marketing Series
- Altai Yildirim – 3rd in Start Up Business Plan and
- Morgan Hughes & Katie Zue – 3rd in Marketing Management Team Decision Making
- Sharan Jhangiani – 3rd in Accounting Applications
- Karen Juhn – 3rd in Principles of Business Management and Administration
- Nicole Kay & Samantha Sato – 4th in Travel & Tourism Team Decision Making
- Muskaan Agarwal, Isabel Hsien, & Ananya Sahoo – 4th in Finance Operations Research
- Peter Orfanos & Daniel Eskenazi – 4th in Buying and Merchandising Operations Research
- Rohan Vaidya – 4th in Restaurant and Food Service Management
- Abigail Paxton & Kyle Millis – 5th in Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research
- Aashika Jhawar – 5th in Restaurant and Food Service Management
- Jake Behn & Kunaal Sikka – 5th in Finance Operations Research
- Kylie Fischer & Kayley Willbrandt – 6th in Buying and Merchandising Operations Research
Go Issaquah DECA!
Issaquah DECA at 2016 Washington State Career Development Conference