By Indian Hill High School Student Journalist Laura Kremer
On March 11 and 12, Indian Hill High School DECA State qualifiers had the opportunity to compete in Columbus at the Ohio DECA State Development Conference. More than 2,500 high school students, chapter advisors, business professionals, and alumni gathered to participate in competitive events, showcase skills, build professional networks, and demonstrate career readiness.
“I had an exceptional experience at DECA State this year,” said Indian Hill Junior Eli Camp. “My partner, Christian Mangano, and I achieved a fourth-place ranking in Ohio for our event, qualifying us to compete at the international level. We are particularly eager to engage in competition on a global scale and to experience the environment of the expansive convention center.”
Indian Hill Senior Ava Buffetta shared, “Caroline Grace and I placed fifth in a competitive event at DECA State, and we’re thrilled to have qualified for the international competition! It’s amazing how applying what we’ve learned in class to real-world situations can pay off. This experience has helped us grow our skills and has us excited for the challenges ahead as we get ready to compete at the international level!”
Indian Hill High School students achieved outstanding success with 19 International Career Development Conference Qualifiers. On top of that, there were 26 state finalists placing within the top 10-12 within specific events. As a DECA team, Indian Hill won the DECA promotional campaign. Additionally, Indian Hill DECA mentor and teacher Phil Said earned recognition for 25 years of service to the organization.
The Indian Hill High School students who earned accolades include:
International Qualifiers:
1st place: Cristina Dos Santos, Jonah Bonomo, JC Chen, Jolyne Gunadi, and Yvonne Gao
3rd place: Brandon Yang, Urvi Garg, Samantha Kayne, and Jessi Robinson
4th place: Eli Camp, Christian Mangano, Vivian Whaley, Mia Bolden, and Jenna O’Driscoll
5th place: Ava Buffetta, Caroline Grace, Arjun Velayutham, Paige Rabenold, and Liz George
State Finalists:
6th place: Nathan Chamot, Nathan Reich, Sophia Butcher, Crisper Chabris, and Derek Zee
7th place: Ethan Brown, Johnathan Foley, and Bella Conn
8th place: James O’Driscoll, Grace Nguyen, Laura Kremer, and Abby Zender
9th place: Mia Sulfsted, Caroline Rinala, and Nate Bunkowske
10th place: Samantha Rozakis, Sam Simonds, Molly Schulhoff, Milana Barrett, and Anna Johnson
11th place: Rachel Lee and Ardisha Thawrani
12th place: Alex Tasner, Connor Wilkes, and Payton Onthank
The DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) will be held in Orlando, Florida, from April 26–29, 2025. This annual event gathers over 20,000 high school students, advisors, business professionals, and alumni for several days of competitions, leadership academies, and networking opportunities.
DECA is a career and technical student organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs with a career interest in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. DECA enhances the preparation for college and careers by providing co-curricular programs that integrate into classroom instruction, apply learning, connect to business, and promote competition. DECA student members leverage their DECA experience to become academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible, experienced leaders. DECA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with nearly 250,000 members in 4,000 high school and college chapters in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Germany.
Photo caption: Indian Hill High School DECA State Day 2—All state finishers proudly awaiting the final awards ceremony.