LAHS DECA Chapter President Jasmine Heft displays Quiz Bowl, Chapter of Distinction, and DECA Buddies Awards. Heft also garnered the second-place award for Retail Merchandising. Courtes/LAPS
LAPS News:
Eight Los Alamos High School students qualified to participate in the International DECA Career Development Conference and Competition being held in Atlanta, Georgia next month. Seniors Luke Creel, August Ovaska, Jasmine Heft, Rocco Del Mauro, and Lance Metcalf, along with juniors Presley Haight and Michael Velasquez-Saiz, and sophomore Lucia Rudin, will be in attendance at the conference which brings more than twenty-three thousand high school students, advisors, DECA alumni, and business leaders together to discuss preparing for college and careers in business.
All eight students ranked in the top five performers in their categories at the New Mexico State DECA Career Development Conference (CDC) held earlier this month in Albuquerque. Del Mauro won first place in Automotive Services Marketing, and Rudin won first place in Human Resource Management. Heft took second place in Retail Merchandising Services, Creel and Ovaska won second place in Business Law Team Decision Making, and Haight and Velasquez-Saiz won second place in Buying and Merchandising
Team Decision Making. Metcalf won fifth place in Sports and Entertainment Marketing. LAHS sophomores Jayden Burns and Alianna DeHerrera will attend DECA Leadership Academies held during the conference. Burns will participate in the Elevate Ultimate Chapter Leader Academy (for chapter officers) and De Herrera will attend the Ignite Leadership Training Academy, where participants will focus on expanding their DECA experience.
Ovaska received the Joyce Armijo $1,000 scholarship award at the State Conference, to be used at the university or college of his choice.
The LAHS DECA Quiz Bowl Team won second place at the State Conference. Three and four-person teams were presented with questions related to economics, business, marketing, and entrepreneurship. Team members Creel, Rudin, and Heft won the preliminary District 1 competition and advanced to the final round against Albuquerque Academy (District 2) losing by two points to Albuquerque Academy.
Twenty-seven LAHS DECA students participated in the District One written test competition. Students from eighteen high schools completed two 100-question written tests at the District 1 level. Testing categories included Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Business Management, Hospitality and Tourism, and Finance. Students with the top eight scores in each category in the district advance to the New Mexico State Career Development Conference (CDC).
Twenty six of the twenty -seven LAHS students qualified to advance to the state competition, where students from thirty New Mexico high schools compete for the opportunity to participate in the International Competition. Twenty-two LAHS students chose to compete at the State level. These students completed an additional one hundred question written test and participated in a live “role play” scenario at the State CDC.
Thirteen LAHS DECA students advanced in the State Competition to become New Mexico State Finalists. These students then participated in an additional “role play.” The top finalists in each category qualify to compete at the international competition, where they will again answer a 100-question test, and participate in two “role plays.” Finalists at ICDC will participate in a third role play; the top performers will be recognized at the conference and presented with DECA glass.
In a “role play” students are presented with a business scenario and were expected to present a response to the situation to an industry expert judge. Individual students are given ten minutes to read the scenario and prepare their solution, and ten minutes to present their ideas and respond to the judge’s questions. Two-person teams are allotted 30 minutes to prepare and twenty minutes to present to the judge and answer questions.
“Through the role play process, students learn to resolve business challenges and also learn how to present their ideas in an efficient and cohesive manner,” explained LAHS DECA Advisor, Dr. Sharon Hurley. “This prepares our students for participating in interviews, responding to customer complaints and questions, and builds their confidence in speaking in front of industry experts.”
Additionally, the LAHS DECA Chapter was awarded the Gold Level Chapter of Distinction designation. Category rankings are based upon level of competency in meeting twelve Organizational Standards, nine Governance Standards, and five Fiscal Standards.
Documentation of meeting each standard was submitted to the State Career Technical Student Organization (CTSO) office and evaluated on meeting Bronze, Silver or Gold level (with Gold being the highest). This is the first year LAHS DECA has applied for the Chapter of Distinction award. LAHS DECA and Capital High School DECA also received the DECA Buddies Challenge Award.
Each year, chapters are assigned as “Buddies” and are expected to host events and activities for the combined groups. LAHS and Capital High were assigned as “DECA Buddies”. Both teams hosted the other team on their home campus. They participated in a gratitude project, and worked together to prepare for the State DECA competition.
“The purpose of the DECA Buddies program is to bring chapters together to build connections and help students realize that we are all one New Mexico DECA, even if we are competitors at the State level,” Dr. Hurley said. “We have worked with Capital High School for two years as our assigned ‘Buddies’ and hope to continue the partnership in future years. These students are the future business leaders in our local, state, and national communities.”
She added, “We are grateful to Capital High school for the partnership we have developed and to LAHS Administrators and Los Alamos Public Schools District Office for their continued support of the DECA program.”
The international competition is part of the 2026 International Career Development Conference hosted by the DECA organization. DECA is an international organization dedicated to providing opportunities for students to participate in leadership training and career pathways conferences in the fields of marketing, finance, business management, and hospitality and tourism. Additionally, DECA provides students with experience in interviewing and networking with other students from around the globe who have similar career interests. DECA also offers merit-based scholarships for participating students.
LAHS DECA students Lucia Rudin, Jasmine Heft, Presley Haight, Luke Creel, Michael Velasquez-Saiz, and Rocco Del Mauro celebrate qualifying for International DECA Career Development Conference and Competition (ICDC) being held in Atlanta, Georgia next month. Courtesy/LAPS
August Ovaska and Luke Creel displaying award for second place in Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making. Ovaska also received the Joyce Armijo $1,000 scholarship award. Courtesy/LAPS
Presley Haight and Michael Velasquez-Saiz congratulate each other after winning second place in Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making. Courtesy/LAPS