Thirteen Killeen ISD Career Center business students are on their way to compete in the Texas DECA state championships with a chance to qualify to move on to international competition.
The students worked in groups of two or three to brainstorm business ideas, produce projects and present their work and all performed to the level at district to qualify for the State Career Development Conference March 6-8 in Dallas.
Sophomores Davionna Allen and Jaden Hughes built a project for the Project Management Career Development category called "Walking with the Voice of Strength," that addresses domestic violence awareness.
“Our goal is to have youth participate in this process,” Allen said, describing a goods drive to assist a community shelter. “A personal experience drove me to do this project. Domestic violence isn’t talked about a lot and giving back isn’t always done like it should.”
“It was a stressful experience,” said Hughes of the 15-minute presentation in front of judges at the district event. “Once it set in (that we won), I realized we did it and it’s amazing. We’re excited.”
Seniors Jaiden Theus and Mariam Soumahoro produced a Project Management Career Development project called "Scholarly Start: Empowering Students with College and Scholarship Resources," a web tool to help guide students through college admissions.
“We decided to create a web site with resources to help make the application process easier,” Soumahoro said, noting the stress of finding the right college and apply for scholarships and aid.
“I feel really proud of it. It turned out really well,” she said of the 20-page report and board that describes the site. “I’m excited. I’m making sure everything is memorized.”
Seniors Ezekiel Dyess, Rebecca Wilder and Sophia Guerrero entered an Entrepreneurship Franchise Business Plan called “Woofgang Pet Bakery,” a pet grooming service.
They chose a specific location (Fresno, California) and planned how to start a personalized pet care service.
“We went over marketing. We studied the population and what it takes to start a franchise,” Wilder said. “We are all animal people. We have our own pets and wanted to focus on the health and nutrition of animals.”
“This is really nerve-racking for us,” said Dyess. “We didn’t fully think we would make it to state. We’re very excited.”
Seniors Trevon Jones Lockhart, Creyontae Britton and Riana Salas built a Project Management Sales Project called "Threads for Success: Program of Study Golf Shirts Supporting the KCC School Store."
This trio arranged to design and sell polo-style collar shirts to represent each of the 16 study options at the Career Center. They orchestrated shirt design and a fundraiser to sell the shirts to their peers.
“Our students can purchase them and wear them on Wednesday, and they get a grade for it. It’s more convenient than to have to go out and buy shirts you might not use again, and it gives us sales experience,” said Britton.
“I liked the overall project,” said Lockhart. “It was a new experience for us. Going to district was a fun process. (Judges) told us what to work on and now we have a chance to go on to state.”
“I was surprised. It was overwhelming because we didn’t know what to expect,” said Salas of the district competition. “We laughed at first because we didn’t know we were going to make it.”
Seniors Carlos Diaz Torres, Gabriella Kenworthy and Kylee Breger created a Project Management Community Awareness entry called "Building Awareness: Addressing Drug-Related Issues in Our Community."
This group put together a trunk or treat event for children last fall on the Career Center property with a focus on addressing safety.
“We wanted to create a space for families could come and be safe,” said Torres. The group gathered sponsors and coordinated with numerous programs at the Career Center.
“I felt good about it. The goal was met. We created awareness and we’re looking at a social media campaign,” he said.
Torres is returning to state for the third time. “It’s very hyped-up, energetic and we want to win, but it is the DECA family. Everyone kind of knows everyone. I’m excited for everyone to see how fun it is.”
