PRCC pair brings home first place in DECA

 Jessica Theriot of Poplarville and Corey Willis of Hancock            POPLARVILLE – The PRCC Collegiate DECA team of Jessica Theriot of Poplarville and Corey Willis of Hancock brought home a first place in Sports Entertainment Marketing recently at the State Career Development Conference convention held in Southaven.
                According to Katie Davenport, instructor of business marketing management technology  and DECA advisor, Theriot and Willis were given a scenario and had an hour to prepare and brainstorm without Internet access and 15 minutes to present their changes/advice to the judges.
                “Our topic was basically bringing in people from the baby-boomer generation into the gym for a workout,” said Theriot. “We had about an hour to prepare a plan and then we had 15 minutes to present it to a judge. He asked us some questions and made some comments on our promotion plan.”
                Later that night, the PRCC pair heard the good news. “We were really nervous waiting for the winners,” she said.
              “This was a total surprise,” said Davenport. “It was one of the largest categories for competition and they competed against seven teams. One of the team members that placed second was the vice president of the Mississippi DECA Chapter.
      “I knew they had a great understanding about the material but to beat a student from a university level was awesome. Corey and Jessica paired well together. Jessica knows the marketing lingo and Corey knows about sports. Together they were a dynamic duo that could think and speak the part.”
                Next up, they will compete and represent Mississippi DECA and PRCC at the International Career Development Conference in Washington, D.C. on April 16-19, where they will go up against students from universities in the United States as well as students from Canada and Mexico. 
                Said Theriot, “I love DECA because it provides students an opportunity to learn things like interview skills.”
                And when news came that they won first place, “The first thing that went through my mind is I will be going to Washington D.C. for the first time.”        
      Collegiate DECA is a national student organization dedicated to enhancing the skills of emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, and management. The organization has been providing valuable knowledge and student connections to the business world for over 50 years.
                Davenport and Rebekah Jackson, also a marketing and management instructor, are DECA advisors.
     “PRCC has a long history of successfully having students receive high marks in their competitive events and this year was no exception to that tradition,” said Davenport.
     If any student is interested in joining Collegiate DECA, email or call Davenport at 601-403-1118 or at kdavenport@prcc.edu.

PHOTO CAPTION: The PRCC Collegiate DECA team of Jessica Theriot of Poplarville and Corey Willis of Hancock.

Each community college president is asked to bring two (2) wrapped door prizes, minimum value of $50 each. We will have a station set up at the conference for you to drop off the door prizes.

Each community college is asked to provide name tags for their Board members, administration, and staff attending the conference.