Monroe, NC– Union Academy DECA was among 525 chapters that achieved THRIVE level recognition this year and will be commended at DECA’s International Career Development Conference (ICDC) held April 22-25, 2023 in Orlando, FL.

Each fall, DECA offers four campaigns for chapters to complete as part of their program of leadership for the year. These campaigns are designed to grow membership engagement and build lasting partnerships within the school and local community. Chapters that achieve THRIVE level receive a commemorative pennant, flag, and plaque. The chapters also have an opportunity to participate in ICDC. In order to receive THRIVE level recognition, the chapter completed two out of three chapter campaigns including the community service campaign, ethical leadership campaign and promotional campaign. Alternatively, the chapter could have participated in the membership campaign which challenged the chapter to attain two of three goals: recruit 20 professional members, recruit 20 alumni members, or increase student membership by 20 more members from the previous school year. 

The Union Academy DECA members who contributed to the THRIVE recognition were: Grace Hopper, Juliana Morales, Blake Carter, Grant Johnson, Mason Lusk, Kyle Roy, Seth Sandock, Dhruv Srinivasan, Maggie Whitley, Gregory Baker, Kylie Brodt, Yadira Garcia-Martinez, Aidan Hopper, Gisele Maindron, Adam Nicholas, James Rogers, Sachel Singh, Nicolas Chancafe, Corbin Esquivel, Gabriela Gama, Tucker Hall, Justin Harris, Reece Lapinsky, Tyler Mosblech, Claudia Romainville with the assistance of their advisor Mrs. Kirk.

This outstanding group of students participated in a variety of activities and community service to earn this recognition such as United Way Day of Caring, Bright Blessings Cake Kit Drive, Union County Christmas Bureau Adopt a Family and the NC DECA’s Look on the Bright Side Campaign. Students held a DECA kickoff breakfast event and also interviewed DECA Alumni about their DECA experience. These students THRIVED at helping their community inside and outside of Union Academy by coming together every week and using their time to give back! 

“ DECA has taught me that working together with a team while focusing on one goal at a time, ensures success. It has also helped me understand that putting yourself in new and sometimes uncomfortable situations may seem insignificant in the moment but is slowly paving the way for grand opportunities!” 

• Claudia Romainville

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About DECA Inc.
DECA is a career and technical student organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs who are interested in 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. DECA student members leverage their DECA experience to become academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible, experienced leaders. DECA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with more than 225,000 members in 4,000 high school and college chapters in all 50 United States, Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico and Germany.

For more information about DECA, visit http://www.deca.org.