Students from UCF set the highest standard as finalists at Collegiate DECA’s Florida state competition. These students will travel to Washington the week of April 22 to compete at the DECA International Conference as members of the Florida state team.

The 24 students competed across a wide range of categories, many of whom placed in the top three spots in multiple categories.

“I’m so proud of this group of students,” said Dr. Carolyn Massiah, marketing professor at the University of Central Florida. “Students who compete in Collegiate DECA get a chance to role-play real business scenarios with real business professionals as their judges. This is the ideal environment to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom and to reassure them that they’re prepared for life after the college classroom.”

The UCF Collegiate DECA team is led by Dr. Carolyn Massiah who will be named Florida faculty advisor of the year at the international conference.

The results are as follows:

Business Ethics

  • Finalist – Brittany Hall/Julia Lopez – UCF
  • Finalist – Reginald Denmark/Christopher Burke-Jones – UCF

    • Business-to-Business Marketing

  • Second Place – Mohammed Ali/Jeffrey Louis – UCF
  • Finalist – Hajara Pichara/Neil Vegoinre – UCF
  • Finalist – Myrtha Destra/Manuela Canela – UCF

    • Entrepreneurship – Starting a Business

  • First Place – Raul Celestino/Reginald Denmark – UCF
  • Finalist – Neil Vegoinre – UCF

    • International Marketing

  • First Place – Lisa Ben-Chaim/Lauren Olevitch – UCF
  • Third Place – Matt Marstaller/Brittany Lark – UCF

    • Marketing Management

  • Third Place – Bobbie Jackson – UCF
  • Finalist – Jessica Graham – UCF

    • Professional Sales

  • Second Place – Jeffrey Louis – UCF
  • Third Place – Christopher Burke-Jones – UCF
  • Finalist – Emilee Jackson – UCF

    • Sales Management Meeting

  • First Place – Candace Rodriguez – UCF
  • Third Place – Lauren Olevitch – UCF

    • Sports and Entertainment Marketing

  • Finalist – Leidy Galeano/Christine Truong – UCF

    • Accounting

  • First Place – Matt Marstaller – UCF
  • Second Place – Julia Lopez – UCF

    • Banking and Financial Services

  • First Place – Raul Celestino – UCF
  • Second Place – Myrtha Destra – UCF
  • Third Place – Mohammed Ali – UCF

    • Fashion Merchandising and Marketing

  • Second Place – Brittany Hall – UCF
  • Finalist – Kheana Pollard – UCF
  • Finalist – Christine Truong – UCF

    • Hotel and Lodging

  • Third Place – Candace Rodriguez – UCF
  • Finalist – Shane Carman – UCF

    • Restaurant and Food Service

  • Second Place – Lisa Ben-Chaim – UCF
  • Finalist – Ashley Sardelli – UCF

    • Retail Merchandising

  • Finalist – Hajara Pichara – UCF

    • Travel and Tourism

  • Second Place – Brittany Lark – UCF
  • Finalist – Leidy Galeano – UCF

    • Collegiate DECA is the college division of DECA, an international organization that helps cultivate student leadership in areas such as marketing, management, entrepreneurship, advertising, sales, hospitality and other business and marketing related areas. You can find out more about UCF DECA by visiting the UCF College of Business website.

    Established in 1968, the UCF College of Business Administration offers degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and executive levels. All programs, as well as the Kenneth G. Dixon School of Accounting are accredited by AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

    The college provides high-quality academic programs designed to give students a competitive advantage in the world of business now and in the future. As such, the college establishes partnerships with some of the nation’s most innovative leaders to model new and best practices that harness evolving technology. In addition, the college promotes a unique culture of engagement, risk-taking, cross-disciplinary collaboration and data-driven decision making in an effort to ensure students are well prepared to enter a dynamic marketplace.