Last week, Middletown North’s DECA team attended the state competitions in Cherry Hill New Jersey.  Competing against high school teams from the entire state, the team dominated competition.  The pair, Ashley Chicola and Allison Dobstetter, came in second place in the fashion merchandising division.

DECA, a marketing and business/career management organization, promotes student leadership and gives students the opportunity to explore business, management and marketing as a possible career choice.

The Middletown North team was represented by seniors, Ashley Chicola, Allison Dobstetter and Danielle Hathaway. The advisor for Middletown North’s DECA team is Ms. Heeter, who has a great deal of experience in the business world, working as an executive for AT&T prior to her work as a teacher at Middletown North.  The duo of Chicola and Dobstetter presented a theoretical advertising campaign for Tiffany & Co. Their presentation received extremely high marks from judges who were extremely impressed with how thorough and professional their presentation was.

As state finalists, Chicola and Dobstetter qualify for National competition which will take place in Anaheim, California in late April.  The team is now persistently working on fundraising to finance the trip.  As the team works hard to prepare for Nationals, they serve as a great example of North’s intelligence and drive being recognized at home in New Jersey, and on a national stage.