Three of Kearsley’s DECA students advanced to the state competition after surviving the district round Tuesday, Dec. 20, at Saginaw Valley State University.

Senior Nick Niles, who competed in a start-up business plan event, will compete in the state DECA event, as well as juniors Barbara Hawes, in food management service, and Luke Leblanc, who competed in principles of business management.

DECA, an association of students and teachers in marketing, management, and entrepreneurship, holds competitions for future entrepreneurs.

Out of the six Kearsley contestants only three will advance to the state competition on March 10-12.

Niles, Hawes, and Leblanc look forward to their upcoming competition.

Niles is confident in his event, so when he found out he qualified for the state event, he felt good.

“I kind of expected to advance onto the states conference,” Niles said. “I worked very hard on this project, and I put in a lot of time into perfecting my project.”

Niles’ event included a made-up business plan, which was presented to judges.

Niles’ project required research that involved working out numbers, and statistics, along with multiple interviews with former entrepreneurs and business owners.

He chose this event because he hopes to pursue a future career in business. He is also thinking about owning his own business once he graduates college.

This is Niles second year competing in DECA.

Last year, Niles competed in a business finance event. When he advanced to the state conference, he changed his event to entrepreneurship promotion plan, which involved a 30-page paper about the business. Niles did not qualify for the national conference last year but hopes to this year.

Niles is looking forward to the upcoming conference in March.

“What I look forward to the most about states is that it is in Detroit, which will be fun,” Niles said. “Also, I get to compete against all kinds of people across the state. This will show me how well I was prepared.”

Unlike Niles, Hawes was extremely shocked when she found out she made it to the state event.

“I truly did not think I had a chance,” Hawes said. “When my name was announced I was so happy.”

This was Hawes’ second time competing at the district level and the second time qualifying at the state level.

Hawes was the only girl in her event, which made her anxious.

“I was nervous but not as nervous as I was last year,” Hawes said. “I felt more comfortable in my event.”

Since Hawes is an employee at Subway, Mrs. Kim Guest, marketing teacher, suggested Hawes try a food marketing event.

Hawes said her work experience helped her a great deal and thinks it’s a big reason why she is going to the state competition.

“Working at Subway helped me more than I thought it would,” Hawes said. “I had to prepare less because I knew what I was doing more.”

Hawes plans to continue working hard and preparing for her event so she can make sure she advances to the national competition.

“My main goal is to make it to nationals, and I think I have a chance this year,” Hawes said.

The third qualifier for KHS is Leblanc.

He chose his event because he said he has always been good at managing things.

Leblanc said he enjoys people and has strong people skills.

He also said he enjoys taking leadership roles in all aspects of his life.

“I enjoy being in charge,” Leblanc said. “I also enjoy being around people, so DECA seemed like it would be a good thing for me, as did the event I chose.”

This is Leblanc’s first year competing in DECA and said he will stay with the program.

“I plan to compete in DECA next year, but I think I will possibly be competing in a different event,” Leblanc said.

Leblanc was not surprised when he found out he was advancing because he was confident in his event.

“I was very prepared for my event, and I knew I impressed the judges,” Leblanc said.

Leblanc looks forward to the state event because he likes the competition.

“I really enjoy the competition, it drives me to do better for next time,” Leblanc said.

As the DECA adviser, Guest was pleased with the outcome of the conference.

“Two of my students are alternates, which means if people drop out of their event, (senior Seth) Cherubini and (senior Kevin) Donnelly will be contacted telling them they are able to compete at states,” Guest said.

Although this is the smallest group Guest has ever taken to the state competition, she said Kearsley has had a good success rate.

Guest is most excited to see the excitement of her students at the event, especially if they advance to the national event.

“My students have worked hard on their events, and I look forward to them finding out how well they did,” Guest said.