Burlington High School Students Excel in District DECA Competition

BURLINGTON — Last week, Burlington High School’s DECA Club brought 177 students to the annual DECA district competition.

During the competition, students presented projects and conducted business role-plays to solve various problems they might encounter within the fields of business marketing. Prior to the conference, students were required to take a rigorous exam displaying their knowledge of business.

DECA is an international organization that prepares high school and college students to be emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. Along with professional preparation, BHS DECA members participate in community service and networking opportunities.

Each year, DECA members have the opportunity to compete at the District, State, and International levels.

Based on their combined test and presentation results, BHS is proud to recognize the following 51 students who excelled in their respective categories, earned medals, and will be competing at the DECA State conference on  March 12, 2026, in Boston:

• Cam Bonnell, Accounting Applications Series
• Jabez Jen, Apparel & Accessories Marketing Series
• Austin Lau, Apparel and Accessories Marketing Series
• Madaline Belli, Automotive Services Marketing Series
• Brenton Chu, Business Finance Series Event
• Ridhaan Ayyagari, Business Finance Series Event
• Damon Walker, Business Services Marketing
• Elise Szentpaly, Entrepreneurship Series
• Steven Dalalelis & Mathis Kansakar, Entrepreneurship Team Decision-Making
• Lucy Clement & Briana Thomas, Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research
• Tayah Fulciniti, Hospitality and Tourism Professional Selling
• Olivia DiRienzo & Alexis Kasekende, Hospitality Services Team Decision-Making
• Grace DiTucci & Shannon Linskey, Hospitality Services Team Decision-Making
• Cole Waisnor, Hotel and Lodging Management
• Trevor Stevens, Hotel and Lodging Management
• Molly Doherty, Hotel and Lodging Management
• Kanika Agarwala, Human Resource Management Series Event
• Matty Conte, Andrew Swaine & Ethan Tedesco, Integrated Marketing Campaign (Event)
• Christine Zhang & Madison Imhof, Integrated Marketing Campaign (Product)
• Michael Boldezar, Matty Gray & Andrew Tedesco, Integrated Marketing Campaign Service
• Ellery Schwoebel, Marketing Communications Series
• Grace Seaman & Esha Soni, Marketing Management Team Decision-Making
• Rohit Vijayakumar, Personal Financial Literacy
• Vanessa Todorova, Principles of Entrepreneurship
• Devina Achary, Principles of Hospitality and Tourism
• Zoha Arshad, Principles of Hospitality and Tourism
• Gregory Skehan, Professional Selling Event
• Sarah Mallick, Quick Service Restaurant Management
• Isabella Renzella, Restaurant and Food Service Management
• Emily McDermottroe, Restaurant and Food Service Management
• Lauren Scalia, Retail Merchandising
• Casey Shannon & Cole Shannon, Sports & Entertainment Marketing Team
  Decision-Making
• Alexis Dalalelis, Shayla Ruiz & Caitlin Shanahan, Sports and Entertainment Marketing Operations Research
• Ryan Latchford, Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series
• Shreeya Patel & Rahul Patel, Travel & Tourism Marketing Team Decision-Making
• Arun Nagappan & Aiden Schmid, Travel & Tourism Marketing Team Decision-Making

“We’re incredibly proud of our DECA students for the hard work, creativity, and professionalism they bring to everything they do,” said Mark Sullivan, principal of Burlington High School. “Their success reflects the strength of our programs and shows how classroom learning can turn into real-world skills that prepare students for what comes next.”

About DECA:
DECA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with over 294,000 members in over 4,200 high school and college chapters in nearly all 50 United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Germany. The United States Congress, the United States Department of Education and state, district and international departments of education authorize DECA’s programs.