Shoreline students shine at International DECA competition

Shorecrest and Shorewood students and advisors Emily Wray and Damon Oliveto pose for a photo in front of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA.

This past week, 22 Shorecrest and Shorewood High School DECA students were among over 19,000 students from around the world to participate in the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Atlanta, GA.

The conference featured the top DECA students from each state and international chapter. To qualify to attend the ICDC, the 22 Shoreline students first had to earn high placing at the state competition, which occurred in early March.

Facing off against the world’s best, the Shoreline students rose to the occasion and proved they were there for a reason.

In addition to strong showings from all of the Shoreline students who competed, two Shorewood students and one Shorecrest student were among the Top 10 Overall Finalists in their categories. 

Another two Shorecrest students placed in the top 20 and a Shorewood student was selected as sub-category finalist.

• Shorewood’s Yara Marouf and Elizabeth Blue placed in the top 10 for sports and entertainment marketing. 
• Shorecrest’s Luke Busby placed in the top 10 for his business growth plan. 
• Shorecrest’s SueEllen Zhang and Garrison Pinkley placed in the top 20 for hospitality and tourism operations research and 
• Shorewood’s Birk Smith was recognized as a sub finalist in apparel and accessories marketing.

It wasn’t all competitions and awards though; the students also attended learning sessions and heard presentations from some of the world’s top business leaders.

Shorecrest students who qualified for the international competition were advised by Emily Wray and include:

• Kim Tran
• Lauren Payne
• Gabby Harness
• Reilly Creech
• Abigail Currah
• Lilly Visser
• SueEllen Zhang
• Garrison Pinkley
• Luke Busby
• David Chen

Shorewood students who qualified for the international competition were advised by Damon Oliveto and include:

• Yara Marouf
• Elizabeth Blue
• Sarah Payton
• Rachel Neroutsos
• Michelle Yang
• Quynh-Nhu Le
• Jessie Wymer
• Violet Schermer
• Birk Smith
• Samuel Burns
• Jared Sanagustin
• Andrew Counter