By Alp Oenguec | Great Oaks Sycamore High School, OH
Success in DECA competitions does not just result from raw talent; it results from access–access to mentorship, training and resources. This belief is what shaped Sycamore DECA's mission for the 2025-2026 school year.
Sycamore DECA pioneered a new education initiative for underclassmen and novice DECA members to establish a mentoring program that would last. After many rounds at the drawing board, Sycamore established a structured, high-impact mentoring program to make competitive preparation more accessible to our members at every level.
In our latest cycle, Sycamore’s mentoring program matched 43 active mentees to 28 experienced mentors. Newer and developing members are matched with veteran competitors–many who have advanced to and placed at ICDC–creating a support system that lowers barriers to entry and quickens growth. Mentors work directly with mentees to break down event expectations, refine strategies and build confidence in both exams and role-play events. For many members, this is the structure that makes DECA go from overwhelming to achievable.
In addition to mentoring, the program provides workshops to hone skills through exams and role-play. These workshops center on applying DECA and marketing knowledge to competition, organizing role-plays in a time-pressured environment and completing a role-play. We have also hosted workshops on approaching studying and taking exams. Through this standardized form of preparation, being ready for the competitive environment is not tied to pre-existing knowledge or external assistance.
What made this program so successful is its purposeful design: the curated mentor-to-mentee ratio allows for personalized recommendations and workshops that develop a sense of what’s expected.
The mentoring program offered at Sycamore DECA demonstrates that success within DECA can indeed be instructed, expanded and packaged for chapter-wide use. By establishing a culture of continued learning and preparation, success will naturally follow. Taking competition preparation beyond the classroom creates real results.
Structured mentoring programs, like the one implemented at Sycamore, can be applied by any chapter and have the potential to bolster member confidence, preparation, and performance nationwide.
