Mayville State DECA wins awards; 23 of 25 members qualify for international competition

Delaney Otto, Grand Forks Herald
·2 min read

Mar. 2—MAYVILLE, N.D. — Mayville State University's Collegiate DECA chapter won nine first-place, seven second-place and three third-place finishes at the North Dakota Collegiate DECA Career Development Conference in Fargo on Feb. 21 and 22. It means 23 of the 25 students who attended now have qualified for international competition.

Dustin Olson, one of the advisers for the chapter, said the students won about 40% of the events. This has also been the largest group of students Mayville State took to the conference, and Olson is happy to see them continue to improve and celebrate their accomplishments.

"Some of my fondest memories of DECA are seeing the kids up on stage and the pride they show in doing well and many of them maybe not expecting to do well and surprising themselves," he said.

DECA stands for Distributive Education Clubs of America. According to the organization's national website, DECA "prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe."

The state collegiate conference focused on both individual and group case study events, as well as prepared events that some students worked on ahead of time. One of those prepared projects, by three accounting students, was a 15-page paper comparing financial statements between Coca-Cola and Pepsi. The students with these prepared projects that qualified for the international competition will continue to improve them for the larger conference, which will be held in Austin, Texas in April.

The chapter also won some awards. The chapter itself got the North Dakota Collegiate DECA Community Service Award, recognizing its civic activities. Miriam Carignan and Lauryn Wolfgram, two chapter members, also received the North Dakota Collegiate DECA Outstanding Service Award for their community, campus and chapter leadership. Samantha Passa and Sam Preston were also both elected as vice presidents for North Dakota Collegiate DECA for the 2024-25 academic year.

Olson himself got an award as well — the North Dakota Collegiate DECA Adviser of the Year. While he's happy to get recognized, he said advising the Mayville State chapter is a team effort between himself and fellow advisor Rob Johnston.

Following this state conference will come practicing, improving and some fundraising to be able to fund taking all the qualified students to the international competition. Olson is proud of the program and is happy to see how far it's come.

"We had seven, eight kids the first year and now we've got 20 to 30 participating," he said. "To see the students grow over time. ... It's awesome to see that development."