At the end of her first year on DECA, senior Ella Sutton made a decision to take things up a notch. She decided to fill out an application to become a DECA officer.
After her application and subsequent interview was reviewed, there was just one more step: her peers would vote on whether or not they wanted her for the position. On this question, the members of DECA were united.
“These students were voted to become officers unanimously by our team,” DECA Advisor Katelyn Frye said.
Sutton is the Vice President of Promotions for DECA — a club intended to prepare students to become leaders and entrepreneurs — where she is responsible for promotions on their social media, in-person events and homeroom announcements related to the club.
Beyond her outlined roles, however, Sutton has played a major role in recruiting members and being a role model for newer members.
“Anytime our team needs a task accomplished, both of them jump at the opportunity to help our team,” Frye said of Sutton and her fellow officer Bristol Hetherington.
Although Sutton did not participate in any competitions last year — one of the main parts of being part of DECA — this year, she placed second in her category.
Competitions are intended to test students’ knowledge of business, marketing, management and other core tenants of DECA. Students are separated into groups based on different categories of business or finance and, usually, are asked to make and present decisions based on an imagined scenario, role-playing a career associated with their category.
“I was a merchandising officer for a vitamin company, and I had to decide if they wanted to sell more vitamins and healthy foods or switch over to exercising equipment,” Sutton said.
Student presentations are given to a judge, who scores them based on their knowledge of market factors, professionalism and use of 21st century skills.
In addition to her role on DECA, Sutton is a PEER leader, a leader in the We’re All Human Club and the president of Red Cross Club.
“I enjoy being in leadership in those different aspects, and especially PEER. I’ve done that for three years,” Sutton said.
PEER is a class where students are tasked with providing guidance and mentorship to their peers — as the name suggests. PEER leaders also visit Blue Ridge Middle School to help students with special needs and prepare them for high school.
PEER is also responsible for initiatives such as the yearly Wellness Walk.
From her multiple leadership roles, Sutton has had ample practice in time management, having to balance all her different responsibilities. That skill isn’t all that Sutton learned, however.
“I’ve also learned that working with others is so much more fun than working by yourself,” Sutton said. “You can just do so many more things.”
As she moves into college, Sutton hopes to continue similar activities to what she’s pursued in high school.
“I definitely want to try to stay connected in some sort of PEER atmosphere,” Sutton said. “I definitely hope to carry that stuff over, even DECA.”
