Cleary University brought home two grand prize awards at the annual international DECA Career Development Conference awards competition in Austin, Texas, including one won by a Howell student.
Carson MacMillan from Howell received 2nd place in the Advertising Campaign category. He competed against 27 other students internationally.
Matthew Radjewski from Macomb was awarded 1st place in Entrepreneurship – Starting a Business. This category had 44 entries at the international level.
“Our Cleary DECA team proudly represented our school with 10 students qualifying to complete in this international development conference,” said Justine Defever, associate professor at Cleary and co-advisor of DECA.
Cleary captured a spot at the conference in Texas by competing against students from 11 other Michigan collegiate DECA chapters in February, the largest Michigan collegiate DECA competition in more than 35 years.
“Cleary’s team showcased their spirit, courage, dedication and talent to secure an international competition spot, which they earned,” Defever said.
Caleb Buda from Midland, and Lance Wiltse from Bay City, also qualified for the international competition after receiving 1st place at the state competition in February but were unable to attend.
“In total, Cleary had 17 members on the team this year who represented our university exceptionally,” Defever said. “Everyone on the Cleary DECA team should be commended for their willingness to challenge themselves.”
More than 10,000 DECA students from around the world participate in DECA’s competitions.
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 established its DECA program four years ago.
“We are so excited to see the program growing so rapidly and with such great achievements in such a short time,” said Kelly Genei, associate professor at Cleary and DECA co-advisor with Defever. “The DECA competitive categories fit perfectly with the concentrations offered at Cleary, and their focus on problem solving, communication and leadership skills are exactly what we try to develop with the Cleary Mind.”
The Cleary Mind is comprised of these eight key elements: critical thinking, problem solving, creative thinking, communications, persuasion, entrepreneurship, leadership and ethics.
“We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to the Livingston County community for their generous donations that allowed our DECA team to travel to Texas and compete,” Genei adds.
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 at Cleary and scholarship opportunities, visit cleary.edu.
