Juniors Andrew Constable and Brian Fisher placed in the top ten at the international DECA conference in Nashville April 26 in their respective events, making this the DECA club’s best season ever.

Over 18,000 DECA members from various countries gathered at Nashville’s Music City Center to participate in mentoring sessions with business professionals as well as compete in business-related events, including a contest where they develop a business plan for a given scenario and a 100-question business exam.

Whitman sent 20 students, the largest group in Whitman’s DECA history, to compete at the DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC). Club members had to qualify for the competition by placing in the top three in their individual events at the Maryland conference in March.

“These business skills that the kids are learning are invaluable,” teacher sponsor Demitra Marafatsos said.

Constable and Fisher both received international finalist medals, which was a first for the team.

Though this was Fisher’s first year in DECA, he placed in the top ten for his scores on a Food Marketing exam, after winning the same event at the state competition.

“This season was great for Whitman, as we did better than ever before at ICDC, and was also great for me, as I never expected to win anything when I joined,” Fisher said.

Constable, who is new to both Whitman and DECA this year, placed top ten for his role play in a business scenario. He competed in Personal Financial Literacy, in which judges assess competitors on their knowledge of skillful financial decision-making.

“It’s definitely a different kind of club,” Constable said. “I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but it’s been a great experience.”