Senior Roman Shemakov competed in Human Resources Management at the DECA International Conference, beating out 300 opponents to place 11th in the world.

“International competition is hard,” DECA sponsor Robin Palmer said. “There were 18,000 competitors from around the world in different events… I love the confidence I see in my students’ eyes.  I am proud of their efforts.”

Last March, the McClintock DECA team achieved great success at the state competition held in  Phoenix Convention Center, which qualified them for the DECA International Convention in Nashville, TN, held Apr. 22-27.

DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. Chapters in Arizona compete in individual, team, and written events; testing their entrepreneurship skill.

Juniors Ray Abramusic and Thomas Kaplan, sophomore Alex Hilfer, and senior Roman Shemakov competed in the Arizona state competition to qualify for the International event in Tennessee.

At the state tournament, Hilfer placed third, Abramusic, president of DECA, and his partner Kaplan, won third place, and Shemakov placed fourth.

“I feel accomplished, as if the time and effort I put in has finally paid off,” Abramusic said.

“As a senior, this will be my last year, so I do not have a future in DECA, but I am planning on using the skills and connections I have garnered in DECA when I become the president of Ukraine,” Shemakov said.

Kaplan reflected on his experience in Nashville, discussing the different actitivities he participated and the different skills he learned along the way.

“It [was] a culmination of achievement. There is a lot of sight seeing and fun activities, but also an intense award ceremony and opening session. Competing and seeing different people really made this a great learning experience. I’m hoping we can make it next year to the competition in Anaheim ”