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Saginaw Valley State University

February 14, 2018

In first year of DECA competition, all 6 SVSU students qualify for nationals

Saginaw Valley State University students rose to the challenge and delivered inspiring performances at the Michigan DECA conference in Grand Rapids.

All 6 SVSU students who competed qualified for the national contest in April, despite the fact that SVSU had never before sent students to the competition. DECA is an international association of high school and college students interested in marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service.

Those earning an opportunity to compete in Washington, D.C. are:

  • Keegan Booms, an international business major from Almont, who was a finalist in the Sports and Entertainment Marketing and Banking and Financial Services categories.
  • Carly D'Alessandro, a marketing major from Midland, who was a finalist in the Retail Management category.
  • Jacob Humphries, an international business major from Attica, who was a finalist in the Restaurant and Food Service Management category.
  • Mackenzie Koski, a general business major from Carrollton, who finished second in the Professional Sales competition and was a finalist in the Human Resources Management category.
  • Jacob Saint Amour, a supply chain management major from Laingsburg, who was a finalist in the Entrepreneurship-Starting a Business and Retail Management categories.
  • Maggie Walker, a general business major from Laingsburg, who was a finalist in the Entrepreneurship-Starting a Business and Restaurant and Food Service Management categories.

There are about 15,000 collegiate DECA members representing about 275 colleges and universities nationwide. Other Michigan universities competing this year included Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kettering, Lawrence Tech, Michigan State and Northwood.

“We have a terrific group of students this year who have really pushed to get our DECA chapter off the ground,” said Amy Hendrickson, SVSU assistant professor of law. “I am particularly impressed with the performance of our freshmen who have proven that you can make an impact in your first year.”

Booms and Humphries are each first-year students at SVSU. Hendrickson and Betsy Pierce, SVSU assistant professor of accounting, serve as team advisers.

SVSU's College of Business and Management is among the 5 percent of business schools worldwide who are accredited by AACSB International; this is widely considered to be the gold standard for business school accreditation.

For more information about the DECA chapter and other student opportunities in SVSU’s College of Business and Management, visit http://www.svsu.edu/collegeofbusinessmanagement/studentopportunities/.