{"id":38705,"date":"2016-04-22T13:01:35","date_gmt":"2016-04-22T17:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=38705"},"modified":"2016-07-14T11:01:20","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T15:01:20","slug":"goodman-students-win-at-international-deca-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2016\/04\/goodman-students-win-at-international-deca-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Goodman students win at international DECA competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Justin Enns has spent eight short months at Brock University\u2019s Goodman School of Business, but he already has his name in Goodman\u2019s trophy case after bringing home a plaque from an international business competition.<\/p>\n

Along with nine other students, the first-year BBA Dual Degree student traveled to Washington, D.C. to compete at DECA\u2019s International Career Development Conference<\/a> April 16-19 and together they returned with 15 medals and one plaque.<\/p>\n

Enns, who competed at DECA\u2019s high school levels through regional and provincial competitions, was excited by the opportunity to continue his experience with DECA in university through the Goodman DECA<\/a> chapter.<\/p>\n

After competing at DECA\u2019s provincial competition in January<\/a> this year along with 49 of his colleagues, he was chosen to represent the Goodman School of Business internationally, an opportunity reserved for a select number of Goodman students each year.<\/p>\n

Enns was successful in Washington, winning three medals in the first two competition rounds and then placing second overall in his category of retail management.<\/p>\n

The international competition sees approximately 1,000 business students from all over the U.S. and Canada competing in several academic areas: business management and administration, entrepreneurship, finance and accounting, hospitality and tourism and marketing and communications.<\/p>\n

The competition puts students\u2019 business acumen to the test by requiring them to read and analyze a short case or business problem and come up with a recommendation and implementation plan, all within 30 minutes. Students assume the role of a manager or company executive and present to a judge for 15 minutes and write an exam that tests their academic knowledge of their chosen category.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned critical thinking, how to problem solve quickly and rationally in a high stress situation, how to think on my feet, and how to speak confidently through DECA,\u201d Enns said. \u201cThere is very little that DECA does not test of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enns credits his success to the training that Goodman DECA provided, explaining that he was trained on all business streams which benefitted him greatly in the competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of only specializing in my category, I was able to bring in human resource management, marketing and finance concepts into my presentation which made my recommendation much stronger,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Enns, who chose Brock for its unique BBA Dual Degree program in the Goodman School of Business, has no regrets from his first year.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst year has been an incredible experience. I am extremely happy with living in residence, with the clubs I joined and the intramurals that I played, and I know business is the right program for me. The opportunities I\u2019ve been given are amazing,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Goodman DECA awards<\/strong><\/p>\n