Rdale DECA students headed to state competition

Robbinsdale Area Schools (Rdale) students from Armstrong High School (AHS) and Cooper High School (CHS) demonstrated their career skills, leadership and creativity at the Minnesota DECA District Three conference on Jan. 11, 2026.

Twelve Rdale students competed against roughly 600 students from surrounding school districts, and nine students qualified for the State Career Development Conference to be held March 1-3 in Minneapolis. 

The students mainly competed in Principle events, designed for first-year DECA students, during which they are given a prompt, have 10 minutes to prepare their responses, and then have seven minutes to present their ideas in front of a judge. For the Sales Demo events, students are able to bring in any prop they want and their goal is to “sell” that item to the judge. 

AHS students who qualified for state:

• Jess Garcia, placed second in Principles of Marketing
• Rim Bouyisse, in Sales Demo
• Tareq Fadlalla, in Sales Demo
• Yonathan Getachew, in Principles of Finance

CHS students who qualified for state:

• Zella Anderson, placed first in Principles of Business Management
• Vision Wonken, placed second in Soft Sales Demo and also qualified for Marketing Communications Series - Individual
• Amy Flores Cruz, in Soft Sales Demo
• Catalina Montejo Silvestre, in Employment Interview - Entry Level
• Tiger Vongsoury, in Principles of Finance

DECA’s mission is to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe by enhancing skills and engaging students in competitive events.