DECA students went to the State Career Development Conference in Portland on Feb. 22-24. Multiple new students won awards. Besides popular events like mock trial, speech and debate, there are still some other teams in LHS that are honorable.
“They gain the soft skills that employers are looking for, and it’s a chance for them to network with other peers from across the state and across the country if they qualify for nationals,” said advisor Franklin Stutevoss.
DECA helps develop skills for future employers, which can benefit students’ experience of getting a sense of what it looks like to find a job in the future.
“I really appreciated how it was like an experience for students who are interested in business. I realized there’s a lot of opportunities but not as much for students interested in business, but DECA was really the only option for business students,” said Co-president senior Ashley Park.
For students who enjoy doing business, it’s a great opportunity to have DECA in LHS to further expand their knowledge of business when they might consider it as their future career.
“It’s just seeing the kids in a different light, getting them out of the classroom, seeing them in front of the judge, seeing them dressed in a suit,” said Stutevoss.
In addition to DECA, LHS hosts Model United Nations, a club that focuses on educating students on global politics and issues.
The Model United Nations club is heading to Eugene for its annual event on April 26-28. There, they will participate in various debates representing Great Britain, Panama and Bangladesh.
“They sign up for committees that each have a different topic based on what the student is interested in, anything that the United Nations would meet about[what] our students are discussing,” said MUN advisor Ryan Inahara.
Although the event is not competition-based, MUN members still gain valuable takeaways from the debates.
“Super interesting to learn about other countries’ perspectives on issues, and it’s good exercise to distance yourself from what you see from your country’s perspective,” said junior Eleanor Kuhns.
MUN students visited New York City for a conference on March 12-16.
“I met people from Mexico, from Germany, and being able to work with these problems. It was really fun, and I built lasting relationships, I think that was my favorite memory,” said junior Brooklyn Peake.
LHS MUN hopes to attend more international conferences in the future.
