Copperas Cove High School DECA advances to state

By WENDY SLEDD

Special to the Leader-Press

For Copperas Cove High School senior Nick Hollingsworth, this was his last chance to compete at the District V DECA competition and seize the opportunity to advance to the state contest.  

“It wasn’t just my last chance but also possibly my last competition,” Hollingsworth said. “Everything leading up towards the awards was a blur but, as soon as I heard those words ‘Hollingsworth, Patel, Rocha: Copperas Cove High School’,” the angst and anxiety disappeared and were replaced by joy. The hard work and effort we put into this project led up to this day.”

Twenty-one of Copperas Cove’s DECA Chapter’s members competed in various business and marketing events against 28 other high schools across Central Texas. Eight qualified for the state contest.

“There were 2,052 student competitors with 1,055 advancing to state,” CCHS DECA Advisor Raysharon Brown said. “With all the unknowns and changes, this year was difficult for everyone, especially for our new DECA students. I had to learn a lot of new material about the entire procedure in order to prepare the students. Our new members also had to learn all the material, rules, and guidelines it takes in order to be competitive at the meets. Despite the difficulties, the students excelled and did amazingly well at competition. The District V Career Development Conference is known to be one of the toughest competitions in the state.” 

CCHS DECA member and German foreign exchange student Sarah Freytag advanced to state after competing in an Individual Series Event with her project, Human Resource Management. 

“I wanted to influence the well-being and productivity of employees in the workplace, creating a more positive workplace culture,” Freytag said.

CCHS DECA Historian Shreya Patel qualified with Hollingsworth and teammate Abigail Rocha with their financial literacy project. 

“Financial literacy is important because it equips us with the knowledge and skills needed to manage money effectively,” Patel said. “My group noticed that many seniors in Copperas Cove weren’t as financially literate as they should be. We created Project Build A Budget to educate our community about the significance of making wise money management decisions.”

The students now compete in March in Fort Worth at the state contest. Fewer than six percent will advance to the international contest in April.