From April 20-25, Apex DECA traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to compete in ICDC, or International Career Development Conference. I had the opportunity to sit down with one of the finalists from Apex High School. Jackson Arnold was a top twenty finalist in the world for Automotive Services Marketing Roleplay.

Q: How did you qualify for ICDC?

A: To qualify, you have to place top ten in the North Carolina for your roleplay, project, or written paper. The top five are guaranteed to go, but the other top five groups/people must wait and see if a spot opens up. I placed third overall in North Carolina in Automotive Services Marketing at the state competition.

Q: What were your accomplishments at ICDC?

A: I placed as an international finalist. This means I was one of the top twenty people in the world for my event.

Q: What did you like about the trip to Atlanta?

A: Well every year, the location changes. Next year it will be in Orlando and so forth. The part I liked most about Atlanta was meeting all the new people from all over the world. I also liked going to the Coca-Cola factory and getting up on stage.

Q: What is the DECA Experience like?

A: It is a super fun atmosphere, and everyone is really friendly. However, during the actual competition, it can be really stressful and make you lose hope knowing that you are going up against the best of the best.

Q: What is competing like for you?

A: It is a mix of adrenaline and nerves. You normally go in to the competition room with around nine to ten other kids that all look just as prepared as you.

Q: Why did you pick to compete in Automotive Services Marketing?

A: Cars and marketing are both some of my big interests.

Q: What is your greatest strength and greatest weakness when roleplaying

A: Strength – I’m confident in my knowledge and ability to show that to the judges. Weakness – I sometimes stumble over words or forget a specific word that I want to use during the role play.

Q: Describe the roleplay process

A: You are given a situation/problem that is specific to your event, and then you have ten minutes to come up with a solution / presentation to give to the judge. You then have ten minutes to go in and actually present your ideas to the judge.

 

We congratulate all of the DECA Diamonds from Apex who qualified for ICDC, were finalists at ICDC, and for qualifying at all other events this year. DECA is a great club to be a part of and can take you to cool places!