From May 3-6, 11 Mercer Island DECA chapter members competed for the organization’s highest honors at the 68th annual International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, Ga. Competing against 17,500 DECA members at the conference, three Mercer Island students earned top 10 recognition and four more were finalists in their categories.

The students who earned recognition at the international level were:

Top ten

Sydney Zeldes, Marketing Management

Meredith Thieme, Sports and Entertainment Promotion Plan

Sara Federman, Restaurant and Food Services

Finalists

Kevin Bernstein and Peter Mahony, Financial Team

Amanda Wall and Dana He, Advertising Campaign

“The entrepreneurial spirit and achievement of these young leaders will pay dividends for them throughout their educational lives and their careers,” said Mercer Island School District Superintendent Dr. Gary Plano.”

Students in the international conference competed against students from all 50 U.S. states as well as Canada, China, Guam, Puerto Rico and Spain. Outside of the competition, the conference highlighted innovative business partnerships designed to empower emerging business leaders and future entrepreneurs to tackle the challenges of ever-evolving and persistently difficult economic landscape.

DECA, an international association of marketing students, gives students the chance to compete annually at area, state and international competitions in the areas of marketing, finance, accounting, entrepreneurship and management. By learning business and communication skills, DECA prepares students for leadership, college and professional life through engaging and challenging projects.