WAKEFIELD — Superintendent David DiBarri is pleased to share that Northeast Metro Tech's DECA Chapter is continuing to enjoy success, expanding its membership and sending more students than ever to state and national competitions.

Upon returning from the national DECA competition last year, three of the DECA Chapter's nine vice presidents decided to team up to work toward increasing the chapter's membership. Vice Presidents Taylen Livingston, a junior from Revere, Jainer Reyes, a junior from Revere, and Matthew Correia, a junior from Wakefield, pushed to recruit more exploratory freshmen and Business Technology students to join the chapter.

Those efforts were extremely successful and boosted the chapter's membership from approximately 50 to 70 students. 

Meanwhile, DECA members launched a fourth School Based Enterprise (SBE) during the 2023-2025 school year, as a branch of the Reading Cooperative Bank opened at Northeast Metro Tech. DECA Chapter leadership has decided to focus on building more SBEs at Northeast Metro Tech in the coming year and to write papers about the SBEs for statewide and national DECA competitions.

The chapter has also embarked on a number of campaigns, including community service projects within the school, and selling T-shirts to raise breast cancer awareness, and donating the proceeds to local hospitals. As a result, the chapter earned two seats in the Thrive Academy at the DECA International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Florida later this year. 

On Tuesday, Jan. 7, 65 of the chapter's members participated in district-level DECA competitions, engaging in role plays, developing Business Growth Plans for student-owned businesses, and writing student management papers, among other activities. A total of 44 Northeast Metro Tech DECA members qualified for state competitions by finishing in the top five in their district-level competitions. 

Those students and the category that they competed in are:

• Business Growth Plan - 5th Place - Feka Desir, junior of Melrose, Miracula Pierre Jules, junior of Malden, Rocky Edouard, senior of Malden
• Business Growth Plan - 4th Place - Mohammed Zouhair, sophomore of Revere
• Business Grown Plan - 2nd Place - Godson Thimothee, sophomore of Malden
• International Business Plan - 1st Place - Aylin Valdez Avila, sophomore of Revere, Luciana Gutierrez Vanegas, sophomore of Revere
• International Business Plan - 3rd Place - Nikki Patel, sophomore of Saugus, Anna Bardascino, sophomore of Woburn, Genesis Solis, sophomore of Chelsea
• Independent Business Plan - 3rd Place - Amanda Oliviera, sophomore of Saugus
• Independent Business Plan - 2nd Place - Kaelyn Dishion, sophomore of Melrose, Ana Bueno, sophomore of Woburn
• Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making - 1st Place - Giselle Fulcar Cardona, freshman of Revere and Gemma Morse, freshman of Melrose
• Hospitality and Tourism Team Decision Making - 4th Place - Ashley Estrada Ramos, senior of Revere, Melissa Domingos, senior of Revere
• Project Management Career Development -  3rd Place - Matthew Correia, junior of Wakefield, Taylen Livingston, junior of Revere, Jainer Reyes, junior of Revere
• Project Management Career Development -  2nd Place - Angely Zuniga, junior of Chelsea, Juliana Arevalo, junior of Chelsea
• Project Management Community Awareness - 3rd Place - Colin DeCarlo, senior of Melrose, Dylan Estell, senior of Winchester, Connor Wilson, senior of Woburn
• Project Management Financial Literacy - 4th Place - Nikolas Lacerda, junior of Revere, Janely Lizardo, junior of Chelsea, Kashayla Valentin, junior of Melrose
• Financial Operations Research - 4th Place - Diosy Pichardo, senior of Chelsea, Katherine Ayala Orellana, senior of Revere
• Financial Consulting - 4th Place - Declan Riley, junior of Woburn
• Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research - 4th Place - Jennifer Gonzalez Garcia, junior of Chelsea and Fernanda Zapata, junior of Winthrop
• Innovation Plan - 3rd Place - Bryan Godinez Lue, sophomore of Chelsea
• Professional Selling - 4th Place - Trevor Burt, junior of Melrose
• Professional Selling - 3rd Place - Zafir Flamurtari, freshman of North Reading
• Retail Merchandising - 3rd Place - Mary Jane Warner, senior of Reading
• Project Management Sales Project - 2nd Place - Ava Calixto, junior of Woburn

Among the most compelling stories of students who competed at districts, are the stories of:

Gemma Morse, freshman, of Melrose, and Giselle Fulcar Cardona, freshman, of Revere — Gemma, who has hearing loss and uses a hearing aid, and a freshman peer, Giselle, both expressed interest in DECA and participating in a district-level role play. They teamed up to prepare a role play in Law and Ethics. While both were still in their exploratory weeks, Gemma and Giselle began staying after school to work with their adviser on a crash course in both economics and business law. Their determination led them to a 1st Place finish at district competitions, with judges commenting that they thought both young women were juniors or seniors because of the poise they showed. 

Luciana Gutierrez Vanegas, sophomore, of Revere —  Luciana is an English Language Learner who is still mastering the English language, but that didn't stop her from teaming up with another Spanish speaking classmate to write a 20-page International Business Plan in English. Luciana recently emigrated from Colombia, so she used her knowledge of her home country to write a business plan to license an American mocktail in Colombia. Luciana and her partner earned a 1st Place finish in the district competition, and will now compete at the state level. 

Mary Jane Warner, senior, of Reading — Mary Jane is on an IEP due to executive function complications, but that has not stopped her from participating in DECA and competing in district competitions as a sophomore. Though she didn't get past district competition as a sophomore, Mary Jane persisted and competed again as a junior, participating in the Retail Sales Management role play, and finishing in 5th Place at districts. This year she competed in the same category, and finished in 3rd Place at districts with a score of 95 out of 100, a Northeast Metro Tech record. Mary Jane will now compete at the state level. 

Godson Thimothee, sophomore, of Malden — Godson planned to pursue a role play in DECA competition when he first joined the chapter, but DECA Chapter Advisor Jaime-Lyn Pickles found out Godson owns his own clothing brand, GGT, and encouraged him to compete by writing Business Growth Plan paper, which requires students to own their own business in order to compete. Over the fall, Godson worked on addressing logistical issues that impacted his business inventory, and then he began seeking local influencers to help hype his clothing brand. At district competition, Godson finished in 2nd Place and secured a spot in state competition.

Feka Desir, junior, of Melrose, Rock Edouard, senior, of Malden, and Miracula Pierre Jules, junior, of Malden — Feka, Rock and Miracula co-own a businss called Vivid Beauty together, and finished in the top 10 last year at DECA state competition. As a result, Feka applied for a DECA-affiliated program at the University of Michigan, and ended up earning an all expenses paid tour of the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. Feka, Rock and Miracula competed at the DECA district competition again this year and finished in 5th Place, which earned them a trip to once again compete in the state competition. 

"I'm pleased to see the growth and success of the Northeast Metro Tech DECA Chapter," said Superintendent DiBarri. "DECA is a respected international organization that helps Business Technology students grow, break barriers, and achieve their full potential. Our students who participate in DECA competitions have a lot to be proud of, and they are learning new lessons as they go. It's a wonderful club and program."