2025 News 2025: Collegiate DECA earns top honors at international competition in San Francisco

Four groups place in the top 15 of international challenges

UMass Dartmouth's DECA team earned several top honors at the annual Collegiate DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in San Francisco, California, with seven UMassD students placing in the top 15 of their respective categories.

ICDC brings college students around the globe together to compete in business categories ranging from marketing and hospitality to finance and entrepreneurship. This year’s conference featured more than 1,300 college students from nearly every U.S. state, Puerto Rico, the U.K., and China, offering students a platform to apply classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios.

"This year's competition was one of the most competitive yet, and I couldn’t be prouder of how our students represented UMass Dartmouth," said DECA Faculty Advisor, KellyAnn Kowalski, associate professor of management and marketing. "Their success reflects not only their individual dedication but also the strength of our business programs and co-curricular support systems."

To qualify for the ICDC, teams must place in the top five of their respective qualifying rounds at a regional competition. Every UMass Dartmouth team that competed at the Stonehill College regional advanced to the ICDC.

At the ICDC, each group is given a case study and has one hour to submit a presentation they can present to a judge. Individual projects only get 30 minutes, and also have to take a written exam, making up half their score.

"ICDC is a great networking and career-building experience. Not only do we compete and strengthen our problem-solving and presentation skills, we also build connections, learn valuable lessons, and grow professionally."

Standout performances

Finance major Will Mcllmail '27 and management major Mark Hemment '27 placed in the top 10 for the Sports Marketing category. Management major Bianca Almeida '25 and finance major Christopher Peters '25, '26 earned a top 10 finish in Event Planning. Operations management: business analytics major Julia Pampalone '26 and accounting major Mary Dillon '25 placed in the top 15 for Business Ethics.

In an individual competition for Corporate Finance, finance and accounting dual-major Hao Tran '25 received one of the highest exam scores among all 45 individuals.

Career building and sightseeing

In addition to the competition, the ICDC creates several opportunities for career development and networking, including three guest lectures, tickets to a San Francisco Giants game, and blocks of time where students are encouraged to travel the city and see landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.

"ICDC is a great networking and career-building experience," said UMassD DECA President Cody Neto '26. "Not only do we compete and strengthen our problem-solving and presentation skills, we also build connections, learn valuable lessons, and grow professionally. I got to reconnect with students from other schools who I met at last year’s ICDC in Austin."

Join DECA

UMass Dartmouth students can join the Collegiate DECA team by attending weekly meetings on Monday nights at 6pm in CCB 115. Meeting times are posted on the organization's Instagram account. Students are encouraged to direct message the account or email Neto at cneto2@umassd.edu with any questions.

 "Joining DECA is a great opportunity to network and form friendships with other motivated, like-minded students. We welcome members from all majors and class years," said Neto. "I just completed an internship at Withum, which former DECA Treasurer Josh Keith '23, '24 referred me for."

Collegiate DECA earns top honors at international competition in San Francisco

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