On January 5, Edison High students in the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) program took part in the annual Central West District Conference at Kean University. This was the roleplay portion of the competition, which students prepared for throughout the previous months.

Edison High’s DECA chapter competes against other schools in a competition centering around various aspects of business like finance, marketing, hospitality, human resources, and business administration, all at three different levels: the District Conference, State Career Developmental Conference (SCDC), and International Career Development Conference (ICDC).

In December, students took the online exam portion of the competition, a hundred-question test. This exam was worth one third of the final score participants received for all individual and team decision-making events. These events required participants to complete two roleplays, in which they were given a case study and ten minutes to prepare a proposal before delivering it to a judge. Principles events are an exception, as these are events where the test score comprises one half of the participant’s final score. These events only require one roleplay completion.

This year, 55 students qualified for the SCDC. Konark Adya ‘24, Sushanth Balaraman ‘24, Siya Bhuteja ‘26, Archana Maryada ‘25, Vedant Talati ‘25, and Samyuktha Vijayakumar Nair ‘26 placed first in their respective events. Edison also had four second-place finishes and eight third-place finishes. Students finishing within the top three performers for their competitive event received a glass trophy.

“My favorite part of the competition is when a student comes back from seeing the j

udge and their eyes are all lit up with exhilaration from pushing themselves beyond their comfort zones,” said DECA Advisor Ms. Lynne Tierney. “That’s what it’s all about—a chance to experience a new way to show off your knowledge in a real-world way.”

This year, Edison students enjoyed the most successful district competition in club history, having more qualifiers than it had in prior years. Specifically, last year, Edison High only had forty state qualifiers, as opposed to fifty five this year. Perseverance was the key to many victories for the Eagles.

“I was the only freshman in my event, Business Marketing Series,” said first-time competitor Nishchal Talugula ’27. “Despite this, I worked hard and was able to finish third place!”

Moreover, this conference was a great opportunity for many Edison High Students to develop connections with students in different schools in the Central Jersey region.

“The conference was a great opportunity to network with students from other Central Jersey schools—I met some cool people from Marlboro and South Brunswick while I was there,” said DECA President and Qualifier Alvin Wu ’24. “Unlike in previous years, we got to stay for an awards ceremony this time. I’m glad our members got a chance to accept their awards on stage, and seeing everyone’s enthusiasm for our winners and qualifiers was amazing.”

Edison Students hope to continue their winning ways in the next stage of competition. Specifically, the qualifiers will attend the State competition at Atlantic City on March 4–6.