Veda Kania of Brighton, a first-year Early College student at Cleary University, placed among the Top 10 students in the world at the annual International Career Development Conference and competition for Collegiate DECA students, held in Louisville, Ky.
“Top 10 is huge at this level of competition,” said Justine Defever, associate professor at Cleary and DECA co-advisor.
Kania competed individually against 48 other students in her category of fashion merchandising and marketing, and “faced some fierce competition with tremendous confidence and professionalism,” Defever said. “And she is a first-year Early College student at Cleary!”
In the first round of competition, DECA judges asked Kania to develop a marketing plan specifically for Gen Zs. She had 30 minutes to devise her plan before conducting a 15-minute presentation to a panel of judges. Kania was one of 13 students to advance to the final round of competition in her category. This time, she had to develop a rebranding campaign, which earned her a top 10 finalist position. She also received additional recognition from the judges for her high testing score.
A total of six Cleary students qualified for the international DECA competition this year.
“It not only was one of the largest Collegiate DECA competitions, but also one of the toughest,” Defever said. “Dean Genei (Kelly Genei, co-advisor for Cleary DECA and dean of undergraduate studies) are so proud of these students’ determination and confidence.”
Cleary students who earned a spot to compete in the international competition include:
• Veda Kania (Brighton)
• Aliya Farrand (Fowlerville): Entrepreneurship Operations (60 other competitors)
• Matt Radjewski (Macomb) and Bryce Owens (Burton): Entrepreneurship: Starting a Business (competed against 54 other teams)
• Brooke Trouten (Monroe) and Jordan Huenemann (Mt. Pleasant): Digital Marketing Strategies (competed against 42 other teams)
In addition, Farrand and Kania won the community service competition at the DECA state competition. The Michigan Collegiate DECA statewide competition in February was one of the largest in more than 30 years. Cleary students competed against 230 students from 13 Michigan chapters. More than 2,000 students from around the world competed at the international competition in Kentucky.
“On behalf of Dean Genei and all of our DECA students at Cleary, I want to extend my sincerest gratitude to everyone who helped support our team so they could participate in the international competition in Kentucky,” Defever said. “A special thank you goes to CEI Group for their incredibly generous donation to the team.” (CEI Michigan, LLC, is a local family-owned and operated business that has earned a reputation as one of the country’s most progressive roofing and architectural sheet metal firms.)
DECA prepares college and high school emerging leaders and entrepreneurs throughout the world for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Its collegiate competitive events program allows students to test their experience, skills and knowledge while representing their university. They compete for top international honors in one of 25 different categories. Business and industrial leaders serve as judges for the competition.
Cleary University offers a $4,000 DECA scholarship to a new undergraduate student who enrolls full-time at Cleary. The student must meet the following criteria: GPA of 2.5, participates in a high school DECA program, submits a letter of recommendation from a student advisor, will participate in DECA for four years at Cleary, and must be a full-time student at Cleary and maintain a 2.5 GPA. In addition to the $4,000 ($1,000 a year) scholarship, Cleary also offers a $10,000 scholarship ($2,500 a year) annually to one student who has met the same criteria as the $4,000 scholarship and has held a DECA state officer position or has advanced to a national or international competition.
Cleary also offers a DECA student at the university an opportunity to receive a $20,000 scholarship ($5,000 a year) by meeting all of the above listed criteria for the $4,000 scholarship and the $10,000 scholarship and has held a national officer position or placed first at a national or international DECA competition.
To learn more about DECA, send an email to jdefever@cleary.edu. For information on DECA scholarship opportunities, email admissions@cleary.edu.
