World champions.
That’s what Lawrence High School juniors Anjali Agawal and Aanchal Aich can call themselves after taking home first place honors in DECA’s annual International Career Development Conference in Nashville in April. The two-girl team won in the category of Business Services Operations Research.
This year, more than 17,000 students participated in the international awards and scholarship program. DECA (previously known as Delta Epsilon Chi and Distributive Education Clubs of America) was founded in 1946 to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. DECA builds on what students learn in their marketing and business classes and helps student apply this learning, while connecting them with local businesses.
DECA is comprised of students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, China, Germany, Guam, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Spain. Prior to competing in Nashville, the 170 members of the LHS team competed at the local level, before moving to the regional level. There are over 8,000 members across New Jersey in nearly 120 high schools. Mercer County also has teams at Hopewell Valley Central High School and in all three Hamilton High schools.
Agawal and Aich flew to Nashville for the multi-day competition along with 15 other LHS students. Also going was Diane Schneck, LHS business teacher and DECA advisor, and school nurse and LHS alumna Cori Levesque.
In order to attend the event, the students missed three days of classes, returning just in time to take their AP exams. “It was a challenge, but the trophy is worth it,” Agawal said.
“And the bragging rights,” added Schneck, an honorary life member of DECA who has been an advisor for 30 years, 26 of which have been at LHS. Her daughters, Meghan and Danielle are also involved with DECA “since they were born,” Schneck said.
Each year DECA chooses a topic. This year it was employee management. Prior to competing Aich and Agawal created a detailed report on their findings, which they presented in a nerve-wracking oral report to the judges. “The competition is fierce,” Schneck said.
The young ladies competed in the category of Business Services Operation Research. They chose this event because last year as sophomores they competed in Orlando in Buying and Merchandising Operations Research, a similar category, and came in fifth place. In 2015 they researched Teavana, a store at Quaker Bridge Mall that sells different types of teas and tea accessories. Teavana is
owned by Starbucks.
This year they researched 215 Marketing, a Philadelphia marketing agency founded by LHS and DECA alumnus John Vogel. “We kept in the family, it is full circle” said Schneck, who firmly believes that once in DECA, always in DECA. In addition to working with Agawal and Aich on this project, the 27-year old judged them in last year’s competition.
DECA kept them busy in Nashville. Agawal and Aich took their AP books with them, optimistically planning to find time to study for their upcoming exams.
“Mrs. Schneck told us we wouldn’t have time to study,” added Agawal. “She was right.”
In addition to the competitions, DECA brought them to the Grand Ole Opry and other sites, and took them line dancing. “Tennessee was a different culture,” Agawal said.
“We try to keep the kids busy,” Schneck said.
“People in DECA are social and willing to talk to everyone,” said Aich. This included many hallway and elevator conversations.
The months-long project included interviewing, surveying and observing employees at their office in Philadelphia. The students gauged engagement levels and provided Vogel with a 30-page multi-pronged approach to increasing long-term engagement through six goals. They also created metrics to measure their plan’s success as well as a budget.
215 Marketing “specializes integrated marketing, B2B marketing, digital marketing is one of their specialties,” Aich said.
“Their focus is content marketing–new types of marketing, ‘outbound marketing,’ because they are young they have a new take on marketing with distinguishes them from their competitors” Agawal said.
Schneck had nothing but good things to say about her former student. Even in high school “Vogel was so ahead with his business ideas. He helps out with DECA when I need him to. He recently participated in the LHS Take a Business Professional to Lunch event on how to start your own business. “Here is a young guy saying I had these dreams and this is what you can do.”
Now that the DECA competition and AP exams are over, Aich and Agawal are looking forward to meeting with Vogel to go over their research with him in person. They are also looking forward to “sleeping and enjoying a bit of relaxation and boredom,” Aich said.
There are many similarities between the two students. Agawal, 16, is exactly four months younger than her teammate and close friend, Aich. The girls live a few houses apart from each other, and their fathers even share the same first name.
Agawal moved to Lawrence from Livingston 13 years ago. Her parents are entrepreneurs who run their own company, Pure Indian Foods. She admitted their experiences “sparked my interest in business from a young age.”
She predicts her middle school aged brother, Arjun, will follow in her footsteps in DECA “because I am always talking about it at home and that has piqued his interest.”
Aich also moved to Lawrenceville 13 years ago, from Poughkeepsie, New York. Her father is vice president of operations risk at Prudential Financial. She also has a younger sibling in middle school, her sister Sneha.
In order to join DECA, students must either be in a marketing class or have taken one.
“I really wanted to join DECA my freshman year of high school, but due to a scheduling conflict, I was unable to take a business class,” said Agawal . “In my sophomore year I took marketing with Mrs. Schneck and joined DECA. Marketing I was an incredibly important class for me, and the concepts and research methods Aanchal and I learned in that class served us well as we worked on our project. Without the class, ‘SWOT Analysis’ and ‘product life cycle’ wouldn’t mean anything to us.”
Last year she competed individually in Principals of Marketing, as well as completing a research manual, “Buying and Merchandising Operations Research,” with Aich.
Aich was able to take a business course in her freshman year (Economics and Principals of Investing), but still needed to take a marketing class before she could join DECA, which she did in 10th grade.
“My individual event for 10th grade was Principles of Business Management and Administration. My team moved on to DECA ICDC last year with our Buying and Merchandising Research event,” she said.
Both students take multiple AP classes and are involved with many activities. Agawal would like to combine her solid business background with her passion for science.
“I might want to pursue a career as a researcher,” she said. “One of my favorite clubs is Science Olympiad, of which I am the president, and I also work with the STEM Club to put on an educational science night for your kids. I’m also looking forward to leading the Model UN club next year as we prepare to pass resolutions at our conference in New York City. I’m involved in several other clubs as well, including National Honor Society.”
Agawal plans to pursue an undergraduate degree in molecular biology, followed by an MBA. “I have an avid interest in pharmaceutical research and hope to work in the biotechnology industry one day. I would like to attend college in the Northeast,” she said.
Aich is also involved with a variety of clubs and activities at LHS. “I am the co-secretary of the Lawrence High School’s Business and International Studies Academy, so my DECA experience ties in extremely well with that role. I am also a head officer for my school’s International Alliance Club, an organization that promotes the racial and ethnic diversity within our student body. My other activities include girls’ tennis, Student Leadership, Tri-M Music Honor Society, and National Honor Society.”
Not surprisingly, Aich wants to study economics and finance in college. “I have been interested in both subjects since middle school. I also plan to get an MBA afterwards. Ideally I want to work in a top-tier financial firm conducting financial/risk analysis for the company. I will also be staying in this general area for college.”
Both students plan to continue with DECA at the collegiate level. “At this point it would be hard to imagine my life without DECA,” Aich said. The collegiate level is much smaller as there are only 15,000 members in 275 colleges and universities nationwide, versus 200,000 members in 3,500 high schools all over the globe. The girls said this summer will be spent doing extra homework for their AP classes, relaxing, and traveling with their families before starting their senior year at LHS. Meanwhile, they are already thinking about next year’s competition in Anaheim, which is sure to include time at Disneyland.
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