Every Wednesday in D3, students from across campus come weekly to participate in interactive games and activities in order to have an effective outlet for their passion in business.
Carlmont Business Club, also known simply as Carlmont Business, meets to learn about the different aspects of business and prepare for upcoming DECA competitions.
Members of DECA are there because of an interest in business and how companies are run. Some, but not all, members are part of DECA and the competitions that come with it. DECA is an organization that helps to train and educate both college and high school students about entrepreneurship and management. As not all members are part of DECA, Wednesday lunch meetings are primarily focused on fun activities involving business.
“Last week we watched Shark Tank, and this week we are playing Kahoot,” club vice president Lily Gittoes said.
Since the lunchtime meetings are not focused on the competitions, many club members come after school on Wednesdays to prepare and train for competitions.
“We have been preparing for two months now. Usually, we go to our workshops, and they tell us what we need to do that day. Then we do computer research all week. Finally, we write part of our report,” said Liam Dowling, a sophomore.
During the after-school meetings, they prepare in many ways such as doing practice role plays and studying various business facts. In addition, they study lists of facts provided by DECA about what they are required to know and learn how to implement these concepts into business.
The DECA competition is based on two categories: role play and written events. In role play, the contestants are given a scenario and then have a set amount of time to prepare and discuss the situation. After that time, they will give a presentation to judges and be graded on their presentation. In written events, they can create a project or proposal beforehand and present it to a judge. The Carlmont team has done well in the past few years of competition.
“Last year we had three people qualify for internationals, which was in Atlanta,” Gittoes said.
Many students are eager to learn more about business and participate in the club without attending DECA competitions. Heath Brough, a freshman, recently joined the club but does not take part in DECA.
“I joined the business club because I wanted to make a change in the world, and I wanted to learn how to run a business,” Brough said.
Other members have been a part of the club for years and participate in the DECA aspects. Tram Phan, a junior, participated in the competition and training last year.
“Last year I worked with some other people to prepare for written events. We also got into mini DECA groups and prepared for the competition,” Phan said.
Dowling, who is on the leadership team, works on social media and promoting the club in addition to his DECA training.
“It’s a lot of work but it’s really rewarding,” Dowling said.
