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Marjory Stoneman Douglas DECA Connects Middle School Students to Business-Related Concepts

by Guest Contributer October 7, 2020

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DECA in the Middle meeting last year. {courtesy MSD DECA}

By Ivy Lam

At Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a program called DECA in the Middle was introduced to both the high school students and students at Westglades Middle School.

Since building good middle school relations is important to the DECA program at MSD, three presiding officers oversee and manage all aspects of it. The Vice President of Middle School Relations is junior Ziya Kassam. The Co-Directors of Middle School Relations are sophomores Jordyn Klein and Alexis Presno.

“The purpose of DECA in the Middle is to educate young middle schoolers on what business is, and prepare them for the real world,” said Ziya Kassam, Vice President of Middle School Relations. “We are trying to [encourage] students to join DECA at MSD once they reach high school. By doing this, they will learn more about life skills and business-related concepts.”

Initially, DECA in the Middle was created as a chapter project to allow members at MSD to contribute to community service or awareness initiatives.

At 100 members, all Westglades students and MSD’s DECA students are welcome to join the group.

Meetings are held every first and third Thursday of the month on Microsoft Teams — a team collaboration platform used by Broward County Public Schools. Members are notified of these meetings and any events through Remind, a messaging platform, and through @msddeca on Instagram or their website. Furthermore, Christina Gray, the DECA advisor at Westglades Middle School, advertises the club through her classes.

“I think DECA is going to be a great class, and it is going to look good on my future resume,” Brian Listopad, a Westglades Middle School student, said. “I am very excited to learn about DECA, and I hope I learn a lot.”

Though the DECA in the Middle program is only offered at Westglades Middle School, the officer team at MSD plans to introduce it to Coral Springs Middle School sometime soon.

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