By Wilsey Zahner, @deca.wilsey | Tolland High School, CT
With school back in session, September is the perfect time to promote all DECA offers at your school. However, recruitment isn’t always as simple as a sign-up form. Attracting new and recurring members is a process that requires planning, collaboration and perseverance.
Here are 4 chapter leaders’ insights on how to succeed at DECA recruitment:
Cecilia Ruiz Giro, President of Tolland High DECA, CT
“One method that is immensely successful in my chapter was having a consistent presence in our school’s live-streamed morning announcements. By broadcasting PSAs about our early meetings, we were able to highlight and promote various aspects of DECA. Referencing our club’s activities and opportunities helped us hook prospective members interested in joining an exciting extracurricular. Further, by featuring our officers in these videos, we could showcase our officer team's personability, encouraging potential members to join a welcoming community. This recruitment method allowed DECA to remain relevant, friendly and exciting within our school.”
Isabella Kuznitz, President of Stoughton High DECA, MA
“When I first joined our small chapter here at Stoughton High, many students didn’t even know it existed. Over the years, I’ve moved from social media coordinator to president, using the skills I gained along the way to make our chapter more visible and known. In turn, my chapter’s size has almost doubled and is still expanding today! We make sure everyone is aware of DECA through media such as posters, school announcements, emails and fun social media posts. By showing just how fun DECA can be, students get to see the energy and passion we have ourselves, and they, in turn, want to be a part of it.”
Jay Saraswat, Director of Community Engagement, Mountain Ridge High DECA, AZ
“A great piece of recruitment advice that helped our DECA chapter was to integrate DECA into our marketing classes and participate in club rush events. By aligning DECA activities with class projects, students got to see all that DECA offers, like gaining hands-on experience and improving presentation skills. Our club rush booth also played a major role by showcasing past competition achievements, offering sign-up incentives and having enthusiastic members share their experiences. This dual approach made DECA at Mountain Ridge more visible and accessible, increasing interest and membership growth.”
Aura Kurel, President of Fairfield Warde High DECA, CT
“At Fairfield Warde, we’ve found that the best way to grow our DECA chapter is by showing that DECA is more than a club - it’s a community. We create a fun, student-made membership video highlighting real experiences, competitions, and what makes DECA exciting. We bring energy and connect with new students at the club fair face-to-face. We also share stories on Warde Focus and Warde TV, where members talk about how DECA has helped them grow, gain confidence and find their people.”
The start of the school year is more than an exciting time filled with informational meetings and sign-up sheets. It is an opportunity to grow your chapter and set yourself up for success throughout the year. Take the time to plan your recruitment activities, work with your officer team, and most importantly, get to know your members.
Happy recruiting!
