Uzo’s Journal

May:

April 25
I arrived at the airport with nine fifty-pound bags of campaign materials to deliver to everyone on my campaign team. As we frantically ran to check our bags, the attendant told us we were too late and would have to wait for the next flight. After being so stressed, hearing those words made the future days seem almost impossible.

April 26
As the campaign team began a new morning, our nerves finally caught up with us. Running around for the campaign budget, speech, caucus cell phone, and schedules, truly made us realize the work we had set out for us. I took my national officer exam at 9:00AM and received the results at 3:00PM. After learning I was an eligible candidate the campaign got underway.

April 27
Throughout my caucuses all I could think about was the speech session. What would be my four questions? Would anyone understand my speech? How can I show every voting delegate how much this organization has changed me? Thankfully I made it through the speech for the most part unscathed – a few mispronounced words but nothing too dramatic. After the speech and questions I was relieved to have other members come up to me for photos and to schedule caucuses, my message was starting to get to people!

April 28
Caucus, caucus, caucus, did I mention caucus? An entire day devoted to caucuses sounds tedious, but once the caucuses start it is exhilarating! Relaying your goals and ideas for DECA to other members, who will pursue them if you are not able to, is amazing! One caucus after another, I realized DECA would be changed, as I receive accolades from voting delegates regarding my ideas, I knew they could see the future of DECA the way I did.

April 29
This was the best and worst day of my life. After the voting delegate session I went straight to my room to sleep the hours away until the Grand Awards Session. When the time came to announce the 2008–2009 National DECA President, an entire association held its breath and my heart sunk. As Kelly announced my name I was in disbelief. I had actually won, this great organization entrusted me with its future and I was determined not to let a single member down!

April 30
Team 63 met at the Omni lobby to enjoy breakfast with the outgoing officer team and discuss the upcoming year. As we finished our one on one’s with our respective outgoing officer, I felt relived and well educated on what to expect. As Team 62 left over 180,000 members in our hands, I was confident that we were capable of "making our mark" in DECA!

June:

This month has been filled with well wishes from fellow DECA members as well as the community. I am still in awe of how kind every person has been.

Like most seniors, I have been preparing for graduation by making certain there are no loose ends, signing yearbooks and laughing at the great memories that have accumulated. As I complete my high school career, I realize what a remarkable opportunity I have before me. My graduation is on Friday, June 6, 2008 and I look forward to walking across that stage towards an amazing year in DECA!

July:

Now that I have graduated, the realization that I am the National DECA President has finally begun to settle in. As I prepare for the Western Region Officer Training Camp as well as National Officer Training, I am enthused by the ideas and goals Team 63 will deliberate on to establish an even more productive organization!

As the leaders of DECA, I encourage you to attend any and all leadership conferences available to you. It is essential to interact with members from other states and learn from one another what it takes to excel. For those of you who will be attending the Summer Officer Leadership Training in Washington D.C., come with an open mind and a spirit to serve! This organization will change your life, if you let it!

August:

Last month was absolutely wonderful! I attended the Western Region Officer Training Camp as well as National Officer Training and truly experienced DECA:

I was amazed by the passion that each and every officer from the Western Region showed as they worked together to build a more cohesive an effective DECA. This being my first conference before training, I was ecstatic to hear some of their goals for the year and exactly what they were looking for in a national officer and bring that information with me to training.

I had been looking forward to National Officer Training since the officer breakfast in Atlanta and it surpassed my every expectation. I found my other half in Shelby, an elder brother in Mike, a crazy uncle in Isaac, and a guardian in Mrs. Henn. From Musi, our "pit time" toy, to late night work sessions in the lobby, we were able to develop a bond so quickly over anything and everything DECA.

I was the last one to arrive because I came straight from WROTC and was picked up by the entire team! When Mrs. Henn stopped the car in front of the airport and everyone came out to give me a hug, I knew this year would be great. It was such a humbling experience walking through headquarters and seeing the heart of DECA. Each and every member of DECA’s staff stopped to talk to us and include us in their busy schedule to tell us a bit more about themselves. No one ever just walked by another person without saying hello; it was a breath of fresh air.

Whenever you join a team, there is always the fear that you will not all get along or there will be "cliques," but our team never came close to that. As we sat down to develop our Program of Work, we all knew why we were here and what common thread held us together – our passion for DECA. There were never arguments over goals, no idea was pushed aside, and everyone was always heard.

The hardest part of training was the last night, after honorary life member, Mr. Coffey, gave his absolutely outstanding presentation; we all realized that we might not see each other again until Mid-Year. It is really hard to accept that the new family you developed will be going separate ways for the year, but then you remember when they put a fake bug in your hair and made you cry, and you realize that you will never lose them! DECA is what brought us together, and that is what will keep us forever!

September:

This month I learned the true meaning of humility by attending the State Association Management Conference and presenting a check at the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon:

Imagine a DECA conference with only two students. Now imagine that this conference is the last hoorah before every advisor returns to the hustle and bustle of managing an entire State Association. Sometimes as students we forget that our advisors are normal people with spirits as young and fervent as ours. On the way to Universal Studios I spent two hours speaking to Ms. Lee, the Oregon State Advisor, on everything from books to relationships! It was such a great experience to see how much DECA members, no matter what age, can have in common.

Through DECA I have always supported my local MDA chapter, but I never knew exactly what I was doing for the families MDA cares for. At the MDA Telethon I had the opportunity to meet the individuals whose lives were changed because our DECA members raised $427,000 for this great organization! Every person at the Telethon treated the DECA members as family and thanked us individually for our efforts. Words cannot express how passionate I am for MDA and the selfless people who work hard for that association.

Throughout the Telethon, I spent my time with Lauren Parise, Jennifer Strauss, and Amanda Reposo from Billerica Memorial High School. I was able to create great relationships with these selfless fellow DECA members as well as Ms. Parise, Lauren’s mom and substitute advisor. This conference was just an example of the outstanding relationships DECA can send your way!

October:

This month I met truly ambitious DECA officers at the Arizona DECAlympics:

The instance I learned that this camp was not going to be like any other leadership conference, I looked forward to it the entire month. Who would not be excited about DECA members going camping together, especially when this camp focused on transcending your roles in DECA, as an officer, and improving yourself as a leader?

Arizona DECA is such a great example of what an alumni group can do for this great organization. The counselors for the camp were alumni officers, alumni members, or current officers. By calling upon your alumni as active members of DECA, the new members are able to learn from the experience of others.

As soon as we got into the car to drive to the camp, the State Action Team began catching up on each other’s lives, both in and out of school, even Mr. Shvets, the state advisor, was asking about relationships! Arizona was a perfect example of what your DECA family can do for you, from playing games and working as a team to catching up on old times, we will always have an enormous DECA family supporting us!

November:

This month I attended California DECA's LDC and Washington DECA's FLC.

Who knew Northern California was cold? Despite my lack of a jacket, I had a great time running around with Julia and Mark. The entire conference was focused on "Moving Forward" with California DECA and featured breakout sessions regarding every aspect of this great organization. It was awesome to see members and advisors get out of their comfort zones and get involved by leading some of the breakout sessions!

Washington DECA's conference focused on "Building Momentum" toward State CDC and International CDC. From the spirit items to the opening and closing sessions, I was amazed by the level of caliber this conference had. (To put it simply, this conference was a miniature ICDC.) It was great to see how dedicated every member was, both current and alumni, through their involvement in the breakout sessions to their booths at the Marketing Fair.

I was invited to join WA DECA's state officer team, Team Momentum, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day and became an honorary member! After closing session it was so hard to say goodbye to the new addition to my DECA family. But because most of the officers had to leave so early, we were forced to say a quick goodbye before Bryce, a past state officer, gave me a tour of the beautiful city of Seattle as we raced to the airport.

Every month shows me a new side of DECA and I cannot wait to learn more about the Southern, North Atlantic, and Central region next month at their respective leadership conferences!

December:

This month I attended the DECA Combined Southern and North Atlantic Region Leadership Conference, the Central Region Leadership Conference, the ACTE Annual Convention, and the DECA New York Experience. This was probably one of my favorite months in DECA because at each conference there was something to remind me of why I love this organization. Not always because of the leadership roles you can obtain, but because of how it can change people.

My friend Fonzie, 07-08 Dulles DECA Chapter Vice President, and I were talking about his experiences in DECA and how it has influenced his life. As we talked about how he and his partner did not participate in some activities at conferences to further practice I truly understood why he said, "DECA was the highlight of my life; I lived for competition."

I think sometimes as officers, members, and advisors we need that reminder: what happens here changes lives. Fonzie is just one example out of the 180,000 members we had last year. Imagine how many people have had their lives' changed by this organization.

A woman at the ACTE Annual Convention shared her story with me: While in school, her main responsibility was to take care of her family, which left her with no intentions of pursuing college without extensive financial support. When she went to her counselor's office to request a scholarship application, her counselor turned her away, saying that she could never obtain the scholarship with her GPA. Her DECA advisor heard this and marched her straight down to the counselor's office to get the scholarship application and help her apply. Of course, being an ambitious DECA member, she received the scholarship and now has her Doctorate Degree.

The influences DECA can have on a person sometimes go unnoticed. This month opened my eyes to the true reason we are in this great organization and I just wanted to share these wonderful stories with you!

Happy Holiday's!!