This past Saturday, January 10, 2026, members of Seymour High School’s DECA club–a club focused on preparing students for futures in business, finance, marketing, and more–attended the district competition held at Greenwood Community Schools to determine if they would advance to state. With hundreds of hours spent on projects, anxiety was high among the attending members.

The preparation doesn’t only include a project, however, instead it also involves a 100-question test for which role-playing members–members performing businesses focused on on-the-spot problem solving–must study, accounting for roughly two-thirds of one’s final grade. This test involves much terminology and in-depth questions regarding a chosen business, posing a difficult challenge for members. A role-playing member in travel and tourism team decision making, Isabelle Young, mentions that “you never know what is going to be on the test, which makes it difficult to study for.”

Members arrived in Greenwood, Indiana at 7:30 AM and awaited judgment in the school’s cafeteria. A specific pair of partners were immediately faced with a challenge upon entering their judge’s room: previously, Ivy Ye and Isabelle Young had only expected one judge to be present, but there were two, making it difficult for eye contact to maintain consistency, a crucial factor in their success. Ivy Ye exclaims that “it was a shock to Isabelle and I…we never practice with two judges.”

Despite this drawback, Ivy and Isabelle were able to return to Seymour High School with first place in the competition, advancing to state along with other teams including students such as Velinda Baltazar and Rosalinda Miguel. Additionally, written event members–members who prepare a 20-page written description of a chosen business field–are also proceeding to state, including students such as Brooklyn Howell and Isabelle Canlas.

DECA’s state competition will be held in the first week of March, with all students holding the aspiration of advancing to nationals this year in Georgia tightly. I wish the best of luck to all of DECA’s members!