Prepping for the business world

Four Lawrence High School DECA chapter members finished no lower than fourth overall at the New York State Career Development Conference held from March 6–8 in Rochester.

Noah Friedlander placed second overall in Hospitality & Tourism Professional Sales, Jonathan Scott finished second overall in Professional Sales, Jesse Friedlander placed third overall in Business Finance Service and Jacob Penzer finished fourth overall in Automotive Services Marketing.

The next step for these students is to represent Lawrence High at the annual International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, Calif. from April 23-28.

“It’s all in the preparation,” Penzer said. Working with Mr. [Mark] Albin, going through practice tests and role plays really made the difference. I came close last year and knew what it would take to get to the International level, now I’m going to California.”

Other notable performances include Jake Bernstein placed fifth overall in the category of Professional Sales and Sophia Mohamed finished 10th in Fashion Merchandising Promotional Plan. Students receive medals by finishing in the top 10 depending if the category has a written test, one or two role plays or an oral presentation. Overall 18 Lawrence DECA members earned a total of 18 medals.

“I am very proud of all our DECA members,” Albin said. “They put in a tremendous amount of time and work preparing for this competition. Not only did the students work on their role plays and tests before and after school, but some kids even gave up their lunch periods for a couple of weeks in order to fine-tune their presentations. The results are exceptional.”