Latest Announcements

60th Annual State Career Development Conference begins 3/1!

New Jersey DECA’s 60th Annual State Career Development Conference begins on March 1st. Students and attendees may log in at http://www.NJCTSO.Live for access to all workshops, and our Opening, Grand, and Mini-Awards Sessions!

Schedule of Events is Below:

Monday, March 1st

3:30pm
Trivia Showdown
Are you ready to put your trivia skills to the test? Are you fast enough and smart enough to beat out everyone else in the room? Then don’t miss Trivia Showdown in the Hub! Join other members for a few fast-paced rounds of trivia and earn the right to be named Trivia Showdown champion!

4:00pm
Virtual Escape Room
This has been your dream your whole life: to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest spymasters in the world—Carmen. You just didn’t think you would be doing it so literally. As one of the top graduates from a prestigious spy school, you are an ideal apprentice for any spymaster. Finally, the time has come for all of your skills to be put to the test! Carmen’s puzzles will lead you around the world as you try to find where she has gone.

5:00pm
Game Room
Board games but make it virtual! Join other members in breakout rooms to play online group games, chat it up, and have some fun!

6:30pm
Grand Opening Session
Join your State Officer Action Team as they call our conference to order, present chapter-level recognition, scholarships and more at the official conference kickoff!

Tuesday, March 2nd

3:30pm
How To Sessions
These mini How To sessions offer you a chance to learn from experts from across all industries! Want to learn how to bake a pie? Design a logo? Draw cartoons? Pop into one or all of these mini tutorials to expand your horizons and learn new skills!

4:00pm
Networking Breakouts
We all miss the buzz of in-person events – meeting members in the hallways, shaking hands, exchanging info, connecting with people we wouldn’t typically get to connect with. The Hub provides you with opportunities to meet with other members through fun, facilitated networking activities. Don’t let

4:30pm
Game Room
Board games but make it virtual! Join other members in breakout rooms to play online group games, chat it up, and have some fun!

5:00pm
Trivia Showdown
Are you ready to put your trivia skills to the test? Are you fast enough and smart enough to beat out everyone else in the room? Then don’t miss Trivia Showdown in the Hub! Join other members for a few fast-paced rounds of trivia and earn the right to be named Trivia Showdown champion!

6:30pm
Mini-Awards Session
This session celebrates members who achieved high scores during the preliminary rounds of competition and recognition of our top advisors! Don’t miss it!

Wednesday, March 3rd

3:30pm
Bingo
Bingo isn’t just for senior citizens! This oldie but goodie just got a virtual upgrade. Grab your friends, download your bingo cards, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

4:00pm
Virtual Escape Room 2
Three weeks have passed since you last spotted Carmen and you haven’t seen or heard anything from her. After all of that traveling, you’ve taken some time to brush up on your techniques. That last adventure pushed you and you know that it will only get more challenging from here. In the middle of the night, you wake up to a faint clicking noise. Nothing stands out to you during your initial sweep of the room, so you fall back to sleep and dream of catching Carmen. In the morning, you wake to a gut-wrenching feeling that something has happened…something important.

5:00pm
Talent Show
Can you sing like Taylor Swift? Dance like Beyonce? Tell (appropriate) jokes like Dave Chappelle? If so, then it’s time to show the world your talent! Compete against members from across the state all from the comfort of your own home.

6:30pm
Grand Awards Session
The moment you’ve all be waiting for! Learn who our overall finalists are, and who’ll be taking home DECA Glass, and representing New Jersey at the State Career Development Conference. We’ll also be announcing our 2021-2022 State Officer Action Team, and saying goodbye to Team 60. This session is all about celebrating, so tune in!+

To access the sessions, please contact your advisor for more informaton.

By Jeffrey Victor, ago

Nominate a Student for DECA’s Emerging Leader Honor Award

Originally published by DECADIRECT.org:

The deadline for School-based Enterprise (SBE) Chapter Certification submissions is quickly approaching! Don’t miss your chance to certify your SBE for the 2020-2021 year.

Submit Nomination

The deadline for School-based Enterprise (SBE) Chapter Certification submissions is quickly approaching! Don’t miss your chance to certify your SBE for the 2020-2021 year.

Here are a few key reminders as you prepare to submit your project:

  • SBEs must submit their documentation to DECA Inc. via the online submission site no later than 11:59 p.m. on January 11, 2021. All submissions must be uploaded via the website. Mailed submissions will not be accepted.
  • Guidelines for chapter certification and chapter recertification are available here.
  • More information about updates for the 2020-2021 guidelines is available here. Your SBE can pick whichever re-certification guidelines work best for you for 2020-2021. Re-certification Option A uses the traditional guidelines and Re-certification Option B is more flexible as many SBEs have had to change their business operations in light of COVID-19.
  • If your SBE needs to reclassify or re-certify for an additional year due to having to alter business operations because of COVID-19, a waiver can be found here.
  • Advisors should plan to log on early to become familiar with the site and be sure of their username and password (it’s the same one used to log-on to the DECA membership website.)
  • Step-by-step instructions for submitting the project online are available here.
  • Be sure to check out the FAQ section on page 7 – this may answer any questions you have!
  • The Statement of Assurances is electronic – there is not a physical form that students need to sign. (Note: this is unique to the SBE Chapter Certification project. Other DECA written events still utilize the physical form.) Be sure to review the Statement of Assurances language found in the project guidelines with your students. Upon submitting the project online, advisors will be prompted to confirm their students read, understood, and abided by the requirements.
  • Acceptable file types that can be uploaded to the submission website include JPEG, Word Doc, and PDF files. (If you’re attempting to upload one of the acceptable file types and it won’t successfully upload – the file may be too large.)

For questions, please contact Debbie Taylor at debbie@deca.org.

By NJDECA, ago

A Quick Guide to Collegiate DECA Competitive Events

Originally published in DECA Direct:

So, you’ve decided to compete in Collegiate DECA. Now what?

What competitive events exist? How do you choose? We’ll tackle these questions so that you can become a #NextLevel competitor!

I have never competed in the same event twice, and I take pride in that. I love knowing that there are so many different ways to develop myself in Collegiate DECA. During my collegiate career, I’ve competed in Business Ethics, Entrepreneurship Operations, and Sales Management Meeting. They are completely different topics, but each one has increased my knowledge of the subject and developed me in ways that traditional education simply cannot.

Now let’s talk about what events exist. There are five main career clusters—Business Management & Administration, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Hospitality & Tourism and Marketing. Within these clusters, there are individual case study events, two-person case study events, and prepared presentation events.

  1. Individual Case Study Events require competitors to take a 100-question test a few days before competition day which will be worth half of your total score. On competition day, you will be given a case study related to your topic and have 30 minutes to prepare before a 15-minute live presentation to a judge.
  2. Team Case Study Events do not include a test. Two-person teams are given 60 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to make their presentation but are also judged on how you work together as a team.
  3. Prepared Business Presentation Events require you to prepare an in-depth presentation, starting weeks or even months before the actual competition. With prepared events, you can form a team of 2-3 people, or compete solo. On competition day, you will be given 20 minutes to present.

Now that you know a little bit about each type of event, how do you choose?!

Ask yourself this: What are your weaknesses, or what areas can you improve in the most?

Collegiate DECA is all about becoming an emerging leader. If you only focus on what you are already good at, then you may not necessarily develop much. I always advise choosing a topic that will challenge you to learn and develop new skills.

I cannot wait to see you all competing this year as you develop yourself into a #NextLevel leader!

By NJDECA, ago

A Message to our Officer Candidates

By Olivia Lang

Congratulations to our soon to be Team 58 for making it through the interview process! We are so proud that you guys have made it this far and that you have put in all the work. We would like to give you guys some helpful hints for this years state conference.

  • Always Be Yourself, the delegates are going to want to get to know you so don’t be afraid to show them who you are!
  • Stay Positive, it’s going to be a VERY long few days so make sure you are always being encouraging to the members and smiling.
  • Make your booth represent you in some way, members will be coming to your booth all day so make sure that you make them love it as much as you do.
  • Be memorable, stick out from your competitors, in your speech and at your booth give the delegates something to remember you by.
  • Eat food and stay hydrated, your running day is going to be very exhilarating and tiring, so please please please don’t forget to eat (bring snacks) and drink water, trust us you are going to need it!
  • Stay ahead of the game, if no one is at your booth you could be losing votes, so stay ahead of the game and make sure you have people to stand at your booth when you have to compete.

Good luck to all of our candidates, we can’t wait to see who will be taking the leadership in Team 58!

-Team 57

By Jeffrey Victor, ago