Competitions can be intimidating, especially when it is an entirely new type of event. Many Marketing I students will be competing at DECA Districts for the first time on January 17. To help ease their nerves, Mrs. Skoog has her students participate in a “mock” DECA role-play beforehand.

Students are escorted to the library where they receive a scenario, plan their presentation for ten minutes, then sit with a judge to act it out. Once they finish, they are scored according to Performance Indicators.

“The participant will be given a written scenario to review. In the role-play, the participant must
accomplish a task by translating what they have learned into effective, efficient and spontaneous action,” DECA’s Judging Information Packet states. 

The mock role-plays are designed to replicate how the competition process will feel and to reveal areas in which the students can improve before competition.  

“The mock DECA role-play went well for me but could have gone better,” Lillian Gomez (11), who is competing in Retail Merchandise, said. “I feel more prepared for [the] competition knowing what I need to work on and improve.”

Some students may have competed during their sophomore year but now find themselves competing with a partner for the first time. This mock role-play can reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each partnership. 

“Even though both of us have competed before, we had never competed in a team event so it was useful to experience what that would be like before the real competition,” Serena Zhang (11), who is competing in Travel and Tourism, said.