teach me how to deca

from Journalism I Issue: The Final Hour 2023

snapshot into Bea

DECA program thrives under Kennedy’s leadership

by Jimena copeland and millie birchfield

If you were to ask three different high school students what they’d want to pursue when they grow up, you’d end up with various ambiguous replies. For Jessica Kennedy, her response was straight to the point. With a major on the marketing ﬁeld and a minor in Apparel Managment, Kennedy ended up becoming a business teacher at Ladue and taking on the huge role of the DECA business program with help from her co-worker, Chris Geisz.

“DECA is an opportunity for competitive students who are not necessarily athletic or for those who like to experience things outside athletics. Whether they’re creative, with public speaking, or they have general problem solving skills, DECA gives them the opportunity to do that in a competitive environment,” Geisz said.

DECA has grown signiﬁcantly over the course of eight years, since Kennedy took over, with over 130 members currently enrolled in the program. Her hard work and dedication has resulted in tons of students qualifying for internationals.

“We’re consistently taking numerous students to internationals every year, so in my first year seven qualified for internationals, this year 25 qualified,” Kennedy said.

Behind the scenes, Kennedy navigates the guidelines and regulations set forth by international DECA and the Missouri State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Kennedy spends countless hours organizing meetings, fundraising events and preparing her students for competition. Fundraising is a crucial component of the program, as she organized Ladue Night Lights, a community service project, and has the Ram Shack (the school store) fundraise money as well.

“If we would’ve taken everyone to internations that qualiﬁed our traveling budget would have been over $55,000. Just to state this year, we took 50 and it was about $20,000. So we’re talking about raising $75,000 a year just to get to the competitions, not including the couple thousand for Districts,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy’s contribution to the growth and success of DECA at Ladue can’t be overstated. Her hard work, dedication and leadership have helped transform the program into one of the largest and most successful extracurricular clubs in the school. As her students continue to thrive and excel, Kennedy’s work will continue to impress.

“[Kennedy] does everything for it, she did a great job of recruiting the new class. She does a great job of getting the information out about when meetings are, trips, and all of that. She takes over the charitable aspect of it as well,” Geisz said. “She’s an extremely strong asset to DECA.”

Ladue 2023 DECA state finalists pose at Chesterfield Mall after their first meeting. “I’m so proud of all of these kids and their hard work, DECA has grown significantly through the past 10 years.” Geisz said.