DECA teaches you skills you can't learn in a classroom setting.
Students in the University of Guelph-Humber’s Business program have had their best-ever semester of case competitions, collecting a remarkable and record-setting 41 medals.
Most recently, UofGH sent 10 individuals/teams to Ryerson University to compete in eight categories and walked away with seven medals, representing an 87.5 per cent success rate. In total, UofGH delegates collected 30 per cent of the 24 total medals distributed at the competition.
Just prior to that at the DECA York Invitational, UofGH received 24 out of a possible 60 medals, including seven first-place finishes.
Overall, UofGH now has more than 100 case competition medals in the past three and a half years, illustrating the rapid growth of the University of Guelph-Humber’s competitive program made possible by the diligent work of students, alumni mentors and faculty.
“I am so impressed with our delegates’ continual involvement in DECA, spending significant time studying and preparing for each invitational,” said Business Assistant Program Head Justin Medak, who helps to train, prepare and coach UofGH’s DECA delegates.
“The year to date success speaks to the hard work and training by the GH Executive Council, mentors, as well as the dedication from our delegates.”
You have to learn how to apply the theory from your courses and put it to use.
In the record-setting run, many UofGH students set new personal bests as well. Dilshan Jayasinghe placed four top-3 finishes this semester, giving him six all time, while Bradley Hardeen, Melissa Hussain, Jhanvi Jamindar and Shirin Monga collected their third top-3 placements and Jordan Smith, Priya Rajkumar, Niveedhika Ketheeswaranathan, Dally Uong, Alia Fakih, Gemini Gandhi, Arshia Singh, Isabella Bevilacqua, Amrit Sidhu, Gurbir Sandhu, Daniel Bielak and Sahil Thind all received their second top-3 finish.
The students largely credited the mentorship of UofGH alumni who volunteered their time to give delegates the benefit of their wisdom.
“We had a lot of amazing mentors,” Hussain said.
“The reason we do so well in case competitions is because of the mentorship that we have here at the University of Guelph-Humber,” agreed Jayasinghe. “All of the mentors we have this year have won competitions or have previous experience in those competitions.”
It helps build experience working under pressure and thinking quickly.
Even beyond the encouraging results achieved by the UofGH teams, students said DECA participation – and the long hours of preparation that come with it – was deeply rewarding. They found that DECA competitions not only prepare delegates for the pressures of the working world, but also provided opportunities to bring coursework into clearer focus.
“Anyone who hasn’t done DECA before who’s thinking of it, I always say you should definitely do it,” Jamindar said. “It teaches you skills you cannot learn in a classroom setting. Our classes and instructors are amazing, but DECA teaches you how to talk, network and build your brand in a different way.
“As a business student, it’s really valuable to know how to do that.”
