Five University of Wisconsin – River Falls students placed in the Top Ten at a recent international competition testing their professional skills.
The Collegiate DECA International Career Development Conference drew 1,300 students from the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. They competed in two preliminary rounds of competition in late April in Washington, D.C. The events focused on business topics ranging from finance and accounting to hospitality and tourism.
To advance to finals, students had to give presentations, take exams, participate in business simulations, or present solutions to real-world case studies after limited time to prepare.
Two teams made the Top Ten in the Business to Business Marketing team category: marketing communications majors Andrew Davis, a freshman from Elk River, and Alfonso Tolbert, a sophomore from Rogers; and Megan Beasley, a junior marketing major from Lakeville, and Courtney Kanipes, a junior marketing and communication studies major from White Bear Lake.
Agricultural business and animal science-equine management student Brianna Ahrndt placed in the Top Ten of the “Retail Management” category. Ahrndt is a senior from Benson, Minn.
Thirteen members of the UW-River Falls DECA chapter qualified for and competed at the international conference.
“This is our first year as a DECA chapter, and I am incredibly impressed by everything the students have accomplished…(especially) given the number of students that were there,” said adviser Stacy Vollmers, a professor in the College of Business and Economics.