For many students, business competitions might sound like spreadsheets, presentations, and long written reports. But for members of Edison High School’s DECA chapter, the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) is something much bigger: a challenging competition defined by fast thinking, teamwork, and the excitement of competing alongside some of the most driven students in the state.
When Edison High School’s DECA members arrived at the conference, months of preparation had already led up to that moment. DECA consists of a large range of competitive events, from prepared presentations to on-the-spot roleplays. Students exercise critical thinking, teamwork, and the ability to pitch themselves effectively as they spend the trip competing against the other top students of the state.
Depending on the event, roleplays are structured to be around ten to fifteen minutes, with the prompt being given minutes before their on-the-spot preparation. Roleplays consist of a wide variety of instructional areas, ranging from finance to marketing to hospitality and tourism. Students can delve into many different topics in business as per their interests and gain in-depth knowledge.
Principles events are often a starting point for first-year DECA members, offering a strong foundation in business concepts. These events fall under the Business Administration Core, giving students exposure to essential skills that apply across all career clusters. Categories include Principles of Marketing, Principles of Entrepreneurship, Principles of Finance, and more. For many members, these events serve as an introduction to DECA while helping them discover their particular interests and aptitudes within the business world.
“My event was the Hospitality Services Team Decision event, which meant that we needed to take a test in that career cluster and two roleplays at the conference,” said Sumedh Varshney ‘29, who received 8th place and qualified to ICDC with his partner Ayaan Patel ‘29.
“Collaboration was vital for my team’s preparation for this event,” Varshney said. “We met with each other to study for the test to make sure that our average was high and met at least once a week in the weeks prior to the conference so that we were fully prepared for our roleplays.”
Roleplays, whether it be principles, individual, team, or case studies, are a great way for students to get a taste of the business world in a structured environment, requiring them to think critically and respond effectively in a limited time.
The second major category of the competitive events available to students is the prepared events. Unlike roleplays, which emphasize quick thinking, these events require months of planning, research, and revision. Students develop detailed written reports that follow strict DECA guidelines while proposing innovative solutions to real-world problems.
A few examples of prepared events are Business Operations Research events, where students design and conduct research in different areas of a business to present strategic recommendations; Integrated Marketing Campaigns, which challenge students to build marketing plans for products, services, or events; and Project Management events, which require students to plan and execute initiatives with measurable impact.
One standout example of student dedication and hard work was demonstrated by Hasini Vummaji ‘27 and Aditi Goje ‘27, who competed in Project Management Career Development (PMCD). Their project focused on expanding access to career education by organizing workshops for students in underserved communities around the world.
Recognizing that many students lack guidance when it comes to planning their futures, they developed an international initiative connecting students with industry professionals and university professors. Through a series of structured presentations and hands-on activities, they provided meaningful exposure to career pathways for students who might not otherwise have access to such resources.
The results of their persistence were almost immediate: Over three-quarters of the students that partook in their program reported that they had learned useful new information. Through their advocacy highlighted in their presentation, Vummaji and Goje took home a victory for Edison High, winning first place in their event.
“This project has enhanced my critical thinking and communication skills tremendously,” said Vummaji. “My partner and I had to pivot and adapt to different challenges within time crunches as we navigated reaching out to industry professionals and university professors to execute our project and fulfill our goal of bringing education to every student, even those who were born in rural areas.”
SCDC was a thrilling experience for EHS students throughout the grade levels. Students stayed in Harrah’s Hotel at Atlantic City, which is home to several restaurants and food places as well as a fun arcade.
Several optional workshops were hosted by NJ DECA that were designed to be informational and helpful for students in the future. A few examples were “Perspectives from a College Admissions Executive Workshop” and “How to Retire with Millions”.
There were also a host of fun activities, such as the hotel pool, Downtown DECA, which was home to a variety of board games and karaoke, and there was a fun Selfie Challenge that students could partake in to win a ribbon for their nametags by taking selfies with people who satisfied the criteria.
“My experience at NJ DECA’s 2026 SCDC was hectic, but exciting! It was great seeing all of the work that students put into their projects, even when they weren’t from EHS,” said EHS DECA advisor Mr. Steven Sharp. “The awards ceremony on the final day was fun too. It’s always nice seeing EHS students doing well, and we had so many students qualify for ICDC in April! My experience at DECA’s 2026 SCDC was fun and stressful, but very rewarding.”
Beyond the awards and the fun time, DECA provides students with skills that are useful beyond the realm of business. The competition helps build confidence, strengthens communication skills, public speaking, and teaches students how to think critically and adapt quickly.
Ultimately, SCDC is more than just a conference. It is a space where students challenge themselves, collaborate with others, and begin to see the real-world impact of their ideas. Whether stepping into a roleplay with only minutes to prepare or presenting months of research to a panel of judges, EHS students continue to demonstrate what it means to grow not only as competitors, but as future leaders.
Their next stop is the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, from April 25 to 28.
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ScreenshotEHS DECA members gather in front of the DECA backdrop, representing their chapter while participating in a competitive environment.
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Siya Bhuteja ’26 (center), co-president of the EHS DECA chapter, connects with fellow DECA members from other schools.
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(From left) Aanya Jariwala ’26, Siya Bhuteja ’26, and Janvi Mangrolia ’26 celebrate their competitive success, earned through months of preparation and collaboration.
State Finalists:
Principles of Finance
Vinay Rajan ‘29
Project Management Community Awareness Project
Aanya Jariwala ‘26 and Janvi Mangrolia ‘26
Project Management Sales Project
Adarsh Godavarthi ‘26, Abhiram Jonnalagadda ‘26, and Mahesh Jonnalagadda ‘26
Financial Consulting Event Agastya Chinchankar ‘26 Buying and Merchandising Operations Research Event
Adithya Kattimani ‘28, Aarin Shrivastava ‘28, and Shiva Subramaniam Manikandan ‘28 Hotel and Lodging Management
Sai varshini Narindi ‘27 Restaurant and Food Service Management
Samyuktha Vijaykumar Nair ‘26 Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series
Hrishi Shah ‘26
ICDC Qualifiers: Project Management Career Development Project
Aditi Goje ‘27 and Hasini Vummaji ‘27 – 1st
Entrepreneurship: Business Growth Plan
Eshan Jhaveri ‘27 – 2nd Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan
Siya Bhuteja ‘26 – 2nd
Sports and Entertainment Marketing Operations Research Event
Yashasvi Kompella ‘27, Kavan Malaviya ‘27, and Pranav Shankar ‘27 – 3rd
Project Management Community Giving Project
Arya Krishnan ‘27 and Yashvi Mangrolia ‘27 – 5th
Project Management Business Solutions
Hamsini Koganti ‘27, Lakshmi Koganti ‘29, and Carol Philip ‘27 – 6th
Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan
Nishchal Talgula ‘27 – 7th International Business Plan Anirudh Adusumalli ‘28, Kartheek Kollu ‘28, and Sohil Parekh ‘28 – 8th
Hospitality and Tourism Team Decision Making
Ayaan Patel ‘29 and Sumedh Varshney ‘29 – 8th Personal Financial Literacy
Yashasvi Kompella ‘27 – 9th