LHS DECA traveled to Nampa, Idaho for their state competition on Feb. 15.
Of those who attended, 29 students qualified for nationals and will have the chance to compete in DECA at a national level. Fourteen of those students qualified for nationals in multiple events.

Going into the competition, John Potter, the club advisor, had high hopes for the outcome.

“We have a lot of smart and hard-working kids. I feel good about all of them,” Potter said.

After choosing what events to compete in, participants had to compete in two separate divisions: a test and a roleplay specified to their chosen event. They were provided with a prompt and 10-30 minutes of preparation time, determined by whether the event was individual or team. They had to create a response to the prompt and solve the situation as best they could. Then competitors would sit before a team of judges, state their response, and support their answer.

“I think we did good. We had a lot of kids qualify for nationals, and I’m really proud of everyone for their hard work,” said Lauren Martin, a sophmore.