Five out of 22 DECA competitors from Kearsley will advance to the National Career Development Conference held in Nashville, Tenn., near the end of April.

Seniors Nadia Koontz, Hannah Ploof, Katelyn Weyker, Diane Bond, and junior Samantha LePard are the ones advancing.

Koontz and Ploof finished as state finalists at DECA’s  state Career Development Conference this past weekend, Friday and Saturday, March 11 and 12, at Detroit’s Cobo Center.

Ploof is excited about how she and Koontz competed in the Learn and Earn Project category.

“I am really happy about being state finalists,” Ploof said. “Nadia and I worked very hard on our project.”

Together the pair made a business called K-Town Tees, which they used as their project for this event.

K-Town Tees heat-presses apparel to sell to their community in the school store, The Hornets Nest.

All of the business’ revenue goes toward the school’s DECA chapter. DECA is an organization that prepares students to become leaders and entrepreneurs.

Ploof said she and her partner learned a great deal about business in this venture.

“From doing this project, Nadia and I have learned a lot,” Ploof said. “We now know what it is like to open up a business and the risks it comes with.”

Juniors Erin Davis and Emily Taunton competed in the Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making category and finished as overall finalists, or as runners-up.

They will be attending the conference if the team ahead of them decides not to attend.

Weyker, Bond, and LePard did not place, but automatically qualify for the national conference in the School Based Enterprise category.

There were over 3,000 competitors at the conference.

Mrs. Kim Guest, DECA adviser, is proud of the school’s chapter.

“Overall, it was a rewarding experience for all the students that participated,” Guest said.