A delegation of 16 Mount Si High School students recently competed among 1,300 students from area school districts (including Seattle, Issaquah, Renton, Lake Washington) at the Regional DECA Career Development Conference Jan. 6, at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue.

As a result, five Mount Si students, Jessica Doy, Mara Gothelf, Adya Kumar, Wyatt Nataros and Noah Vaughn, placed in the top 10 in their categories, qualifying to advance to the State Career Development Conference March 2 to 4, in Bellevue.

At the state conference, students who finish in the top seven of their categories will be invited to the International Career Development Conference, April 26 to 29, in Anaheim, Calif.

DECA, which stands for Distributive Education Clubs of America, prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.

DECA competitive events cover a wide range of career skills including: advertising campaign, restaurant management, sports and entertainment marketing, hotel and lodging management, human resources management, professional selling, business service management, financial consulting, automobile services management, start-up business plan, and fashion merchandising promotion.

For more information about DECA or to inquire how adult volunteers with business skills can help judge DECA competitions, contact DECA Advisor Kelly Hawkins at hawkinsk@svsd410.org.