Students Knew Their Business at DECA Competition

After establishing a DECA student organization at Canterbury School early this year, our business-minded Saints did not take long to jump right into competition.

Nineteen Canterbury students joined around 1,000 peers statewide in the annual DECA State Career Development Competition on March 3 at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville, Connecticut. DECA—which stands for Distributive Education Clubs of America—builds leadership, knowledge, and diligence in participants in four different areas of competition: marketing, finance, hospitality, and business management.   

The trip was rewarding in many ways for our students. They all thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to combine learning with real-world experiences as they formed teams to create essays and presentations on a variety of business-related subjects. Two Saints, Ryan Diaz ’27 and Francis Foley IV ’27, received DECA pins for excelling in a knowledge contest. And one of the Canterbury teams—consisting of Lochlan Finnegan ’26, Grayson Mengold ’26, and Henry Saunders ’27—earned an impressive fourth-place finish!

Competing in the Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research event, the trio chose to explore potential AI applications in a popular online travel site’s current business plan. “In our essay, we compared the company’s user interface to some of its competitors and found ways to implement AI,” Lochlan said. “From there, we presented our findings and potential long-term strategies to a judge. It was great to not only compete but meet so many students from all around Connecticut.”

Their performance earned the team an invitation to compete at the DECA International Career Development Conference in late April at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. 

Henry was instrumental in bringing DECA to Canterbury after having a positive experience with it at his previous school. He currently serves as the club’s President alongside Vice President Hayden Renda ’26.

DECA Faculty Advisor and History Teacher Edward Smith was delighted with the results, especially considering the obstacles the Canterbury competitors had to overcome. “Their accomplishments were well-earned, as we started late, and this is our first year,” Ted shared. “I am honored to help these fun-loving and intelligent students focus on developing their business careers.”