Lawrence High School DECA chapter members earned the organization’s highest honors its 68th annual International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, Ga., May 3-6.
Criswell Lavery was a Top 20 finalist in the Human Resource Marketing event and Tithi Patel was a finalist in the Sports Marketing written test.
During the school year, approximately 120,000 of DECA’s 200,000 student members take part in the organization’s competitive events program, allowing them to compete for local and regional titles.
The competitions are designed to simulate real-life business scenarios and test students’ academic understanding and skills development.
The top state and provincial winners put their talents to the test during the program’s final round of competition in Atlanta. Nearly 10,000 students vied for international honors at the conference.
During the conference, students attended an opening session featuring pro football and college football hall of fame inductee and entrepreneur Fran Tarkenton. In addition to career-based competition, DECA members engaged in leadership academies and networking opportunities with over 60 internationally recognized businesses.
DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. DECA enhances the preparation for college and careers by providing co-curricular programs that integrate into classroom instruction, apply learning, connect to business and promote competition.
More information is online at deca.org.

Lawrence High School DECA members Allison Foltiny, Jordannah Schrieber, Tithi Patel, Thomas Ikeda, Shakil Yoosuf, Linda Luo, Marie Buschman, Andrew Moldoff, Criswell Lavery, David Eggert, Kevin Hanko and Patrick Lavery pose during the conference in May.,