RM boasts the #1 DECA chapter in Maryland, with over 140 members and 49 International Career Development Competition (ICDC) qualifiers this year. As one of the strongest academic varsity teams at RM, DECA introduces hundreds of students to the world of business, forming connections both inside and out of school, and developing a plethora of business skills.

For many students, ICDC is the highlight of the DECA experience. Qualifying to compete there requires winning SCDC (State Career Development Competition) and spending hours preparing. The competition is held at a variety of locations across the United States, from Atlanta to Anaheim to Orlando, where it was held this year. Because attending ICDC involves flight, hotels, a conference fee, as well as food and other expenses, the experience can cost over $1000.

Despite the high barriers to entry, the overall experience is considered very valuable for many. Junior Derek Wang and his team, for instance, used the Washington Commanders for their business, about which they had to write a 20 page project. Moreover, they got to interview a senior Vice President for the Commanders. “It was a really interesting and fun event to do. I honestly love doing the research, interviewing. It was a really nice way to pursue an interest with a group of friends and I think that type of a very diverse outreach is what makes DECA so appealing to people,” Wang said.

Katherine Xue was another qualifier for ICDC, who wrote a paper. “It takes a lot of time to research to try and kind of figure out the outline of your project and then start drafting the paper and writing. After you do all that for SCDC and you qualify, you have another chance to edit your paper.” The whole process lasts over the span of a few months and is a test of commitment, endurance and teamwork. But the chance to go to ICDC is worth the effort.

Beyond simply being a competition, ICDC is a communal experience that allows qualifiers to travel, meet new people and have fun in the middle of exam season. “I think ICDC is one of the highlights of my high school career, especially this year because it really allows you to meet new people,” Xue said. Part of the ICDC experience comes from trading collectible pins between states or countries. Through this, students are heavily encouraged to go up to random students from across the world to trade, which builds connections and people skills.

“You really have to adapt to that environment, and what I realize this year is that I’ve gotten a lot better at trading. I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with talking to random people striking up a conversation and that’s been really really important, because you need to learn how to talk to people and talk to adults and kind of introduce yourself and market yourself,” Xue said.

There are a variety of DECA events that members can choose to participate in. The main three are Roleplay, Written and Virtual Business Challenge (VBC). Roleplay involves pretending to be a business manager in a set scenario, where participants are evaluated on a variety of performance indicators, from communication skills and emotional intelligence to financial analysis.

“You have to study some. You have to take an exam and you have to study some potential situations and get ready for just like a very short 15 minute like, on the spot,” Wang said. The written event involves writing a 10-20 page paper about a business and presenting it in front of a judge.

This year, RM DECA was able to claim a victory in the Virtual Business Challenge for Accounting in which participants were given a computer simulation of accounting documents (such as payroll documents or timesheets) and were tasked to find errors in those documents. For each round there are three errors to find, and sophomores Reuben Cummings, Parim Shah and Nikhil Nare placed first each round. The prize for getting in the top three is a glass award, colloquially just referred to as “glass” by DECA members.

“A lot of people initially see the trip as the motivating factor, but eventually they realize that there’s a lot of skills and people you get to meet. And that’s the real value out of DECA,” Shah said. “People would say the highlight is going on stage, but I’d say midnight, talking to people in our hotel room, playing UNO or playing cards, that’s the real highlight for me.”