When new students go to the club fair, they see all sorts of clubs—Gourmet Club, Pre-Med, Theatre South, Contemporary Music, Astronomy—but one stands out from the rest: DECA. Whether it’s the crowded meetings (with 70 people in one small classroom), the competitive energy, or the stories of students across the country, DECA has built a reputation at Great Neck South as one of the school’s most recognizable clubs. This year’s attention follows what Mr. Vine is described as “probably the most successful year” in chapter history. 

At the DECA International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, Great Neck South DECA had nearly 50 students qualified for internationals, making South one of the largest chapters in New York. South’s success did not stop at states, though. They returned home with multiple top 20 finishes in presentations and testing to a top 3 international placement in a corporate-sponsored event and ultimately what many considered the state’s most successful school at ICDC. 

But the success did not happen overnight. New members are entering DECA more prepared, which is thanks to the help by stronger mentorship, preparation, and even early exposure through a middle school business club. Freshmen, considered to have less experience and therefore less likely to succeed, are now qualifying for internationals at the highest rate the school has ever seen, changing the perception of what first-year members can accomplish. 

The trip itself helps fuel that excitement and motivation, as last year’s qualifiers went to Disney World and Universal Studios, while this year’s Atlanta trip included an all-expense-paid-trip to Six Flags and even T-shirts and personalized hats for every qualifier. Junior Austin Cheng, recalling his trip to ICDC this year, says that “I [he] will never forget flying out to Atlanta and seeing the huge stadium, communicating with people in the hotel lobby and pin trading, and going to the biggest Six Flags ride.”

For many students, motivation starts with watching older members succeed. Junior Brandon Tang said that seeing older students qualify in previous years made ICDC seem “actually possible,” motivating newer members to compete more seriously. Janis Fok, a freshman that moved on to the ICDC level this year, has attributed her early success to motivation from older members as well as the trip itself. “The older members have definitely motivated me to put in consistent effort for future years because though I didn’t win anything for freshmen year [at ICDC], I can continue working hard to achieve an award at ICDC.”