Photo submitted to the Times Observer Two 10th-grade Warren County Career Center students advanced to the DECA State Competition following the district competition in December. Pictured are Macey Eyler, first place in Automotive Services Marketing and Mitchell Rossman, second place in Principles of Hospitality and Tourism.

Two Warren County Career Center students described this year’s district DECA competition as “fun but nerve-racking.”

They’re preparing to wrack their nerves again, as they advance to the state competition.

This was the first year that 10th-grade students Macey Eyler and Mitchell Rossman took part in the competition. Eyler earned first place in the Automotive Services Marketing category and Rossman took second place in Principles of Hospitality and Tourism. The top three students in each individual event advance to the state level.

The competition includes a 100-question multiple-choice test and a role-play situation, according to Cathie Cummings, the career center’s DECA advisor and marketing teacher. Students are given a scenario to a real-world situation in their marketing or business event and must find a solution and present it to a judge.

Both Eyler and Rossman admitted they felt stressed during the timed exam. The closer it got to finish time the more the tension built, according to Rossman.

The role-playing situation was something the students had practiced, with the help of a local “judge” lending his expertise. Dave Sherman, executive director of the Warren County Visitors Bureau, helped the students hone their skills.

“My job is to allow these students to discover that although I am a judge, my job isn’t to scare them or intimidate them, but to allow them to relax and tell me what they know in an organized, professional manner,” Sherman said. “I feel once it clicks in their minds that this guy is simply here to build me up and not jump on little errors in the role-play process, then they can discover what they know and what they need to improve upon if they are going to excel in their DECA competition.”

“Once they complete the role-play process, then we can reaffirm their strengths, and work on any weaknesses prior to the actual competition,” he said. “I’m their ‘scrimmage’ before the game, and I enjoy watching their progress usually over a two-to-three-year process.”

“The role-play typically puts them in the human resources or marketing department and they are faced with a real-world challenge,” Sherman said. “They describe to the judge a real-world solution. It’s so much more effective than rote memorization or multiple choice questions.”

Eyler and Rossman agreed that they learned a lot from the experience and highly recommend students with an interest get involved in DECA. They differed a bit as to seeking a career in their chosen DECA category.

Eyler thinks that gaining skills in automotive services marketing is a “good thing” but she’s thinking about a career as an estimator. Rossman, however, is eager to have a job in hospitality and/or tourism.

“I’d like to see what some of these DECA students from five-to-ten years ago are doing now,” Sherman said. “They build confidence for real life challenges and I’d wager that many of them look back with gratitude towards their very uncomfortable beginnings as they pushed through the angst and anxiety and eventually became real-life successes. The WCVB has been fortunate to hire some of these students as interns over the years.”

The District One Competition included students from the career center as well as Bradford, Brookville, McDowell, Ridgway, Smethport and St. Mary’s. A total of eight students from the career center took part in the district competition.

DECA is a nonprofit organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges.

As part of the classroom curriculum, DECA’s competitive events are aligned with the National Curriculum Standards in the categories of marketing, business management and administration, finance, and hospitality and tourism.

The DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) state competition will take place from Feb. 19 to 21 in Hershey, Pa.

“They don’t have to win a medal at states to grow from the experience,” Sherman said. “Competing is an education in itself.”