6pm on March 5. A restless Neha Anoo is sitting in her seat at the Atlantic City Conference ballroom. As names are being called for winners in the Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making event category, she can barely keep still. She looks to her left at her partner, Diya Damwani. Her palms begin to sweat, as the weeks of hard work culminate in this very moment.
“Neha Anoo and Diya Damwani from Northern Valley Old Tappan,” the announcer calls.
Anoo, a junior and first year DECA member, never intended to join DECA, and the journey that brought her to Nationals looked different than most. While many students pursue DECA because of their passion for business or market, Anoo has different plans.
“I joined DECA because I want to be a lawyer, which requires similar skills in presentation and public speaking. I like how DECA pushes you out of your comfort zone and allows you to apply those communication skills to real-world situations. This also goes to show that DECA is not just for business students, it’s really for everyone.” Anoo said.
Anoo recounted how she felt after qualifying: “Honestly, I hoped I would do well, but I didn’t expect to make it all the way to the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) when I first joined, so qualifying for nationals was really exciting and rewarding,” she added.
Damwani said, “We were so happy, and I think we were just proud of ourselves because the entire time we had a very positive outlook on everything. Sometimes people walk out of competitions not feeling so great, or saying, ‘Oh my god, that was horrible’, but we walked out every competition smiling and proud of ourselves and maintaining a positive outlook. I think that that’s probably why we were able to be successful, but [winning] also just made it feel so much better, because we were proud and happy with the work that we put out.”
Weeks of preparation, as well as valuable advice from seniors and previous competitors, went into Damwani and Anoo’s success in Atlantic City and Atlanta.
DECA Advisor Antonio Marino said, “While it doesn’t happen often, we have had first year members qualify for nationals in the past. However, in order to do that it does take a lot of work and preparation to learn the ins and outs of the DECA competitions. We’re very fortunate to have a lot of senior members who are willing to mentor the younger and newer members.”
Additionally, Anoo took her preparation seriously, practicing roleplays consistently, timing herself to improve her organization and confidence in the weeks leading up to Nationals, and even watching sample presentations to see what others have done in the past and what worked and didn’t work for them.
She said, “The preparation was very valuable. Confidence makes a huge difference in how you communicate under pressure.”
Marino also emphasizes the role that Damwani, Anoo’s partner and returning DECA member, played in their success.
“Some preparation happens in school at lunch time and after school prep sessions, but some of it has to take place at home on their own. In Neha’s case, being able to work closely with her partner who had previous DECA experience, Diya certainly contributed to the team’s success.”
When anticipating what Nationals in Atlanta would be like, Anoo imagined it to be a very competitive environment. However, she was pleasantly surprised by the collaborative students she met there.
When reflecting on her time at Nationals, Anoo said, “Attending DECA ICDC was an amazing experience. It was really exciting to meet passionate students from around the country. I learned a lot from them, and it wasn’t as competitive as I imagined it would be. Everyone I met was open and helped each other out. The most notable part was being surrounded by so many motivated people and seeing the energy and excitement at the conference. I hope to be back next year.”
Anoo gained many things from this experience, and the most impactful was a new-found “confidence in [her] ability to think quickly and effectively communicate [my] thoughts under pressure. It also taught me the importance of teamwork and adaptability in tough situations,” Anoo said.
Damwani said “I think that if you are thinking about DECA, do it. Just jump into it. Go to the district competition, which everyone goes to, and you’ll get a feeling of what it is like right away. If you like it, you like it. If you don’t, you know, maybe try it again, but you’ll probably know right away if you don’t.”
For Anoo, DECA is not just another club. It is an opportunity to learn and grow personally and professionally and apply these skills to her life beyond the classroom and in the courtroom.