By Eesha Kothini, @eeshakothinti | Sussex Hamilton High School, WI
Abigail Goddard, DECA Member and Entrepreneur
Meet Abigail, a DECA member who turned challenges into business opportunities. Through DECA, she developed valuable skills and gained confidence, learning how to be an effective leader. Now, she aims to help other students turn their ideas into reality with the support of DECA.
The Idea Behind the Journey
Abigail’s journey began when she realized how identifying real challenges and turning them into actionable business concepts could create meaningful opportunities. Through DECA, she learned how to take ideas sparked by real-life problems and shape them into ventures.
Bringing the Idea to DECA
Abigail brought her business concept to DECA as a junior, and the experience transformed how she thought about entrepreneurship. Competing in events like the Independent Business Plan pushed her and her teammates, Meghana Sappidi and Lilly Smith, to think critically about market research, financial projections, customer personas and competitive positioning, skills she continues to use every day.
Preparing for DECA competitions strengthened her business plan, presentation skills and confidence. Experiences such as presenting to judges, receiving feedback and collaborating with her team demonstrated that, as a student, she could attract attention to her ideas and gain meaningful guidance from professionals. At ICDC, a judge even met with Abigail after the conference to provide advice, showing firsthand the opportunities DECA creates for young entrepreneurs.
Where DECA Makes the Difference
Speaking with Abigail, she shared that great ideas need a supportive environment to grow. For students, DECA serves as that environment. Through competitions and hands-on research, members test concepts, build business skills and grow in confidence.
“DECA gave me a community of like-minded students that led to several partnerships, ambassadors and supporters,” Abigail said. “Now, I’m able to help support other teams qualify for ICDC. Several teams even benefited from guidance on events like Business Operations Research and Integrated Marketing Campaign, a true win-win.”
Her story shows that supportive communities can help turn ideas into reality. With the right preparation, support and guidance, the next big idea just needs an opportunity to grow and DECA can provide that platform for students to develop leadership, creativity and business skills that last forever.
