Orono DECA has always had a strong presence at state and national conferences, with students competing in various categories and placing at a national level. One category of written projects that are competed in is the chapter project section. These projects are generally given to students that have proven high levels of competency in past years of DECA. This is due to the fact that one slot in each of the six categories is given to each DECA chapter, in contrast to other events, in which there are more students allowed to compete.

Keith Jurek, the Orono DECA advisor, offers these projects to second-year marketing students who showed dedication and innovation in the year prior. The Unified project has been written specifically as a public relations project over the three years it has been done at Orono. The project aims to work alongside a charity or organization that deserves and needs more exposure to the community to be able to broaden and strengthen their message.

“What I would like to see is continued growth. I don’t want it to always be there as a [DECA] project, but just however Unified itself can grow. It is the greatest thing for kids with challenges, and it is great for mainstream kids to be humbled. I was kind of selfish for wanting [a unified program] in Delano, because I wanted my kids to experience it, after seeing it in action here at Orono and what it has done for all kids,” said Jurek.

For the past few years, the Orono DECA chapter has partnered with the Unified club and Special Olympics. Both of these programs are deeply ingrained in the Orono community, and the work Orono has done is the basis for the PR projects. The DECA students have used Orono as a model for other schools to follow, implementing similar programs in other schools and aiming to grow them to have the success and prevalence within their respective communities similar to that within Orono.

This year, seniors Jordan Case, Julia Rosendahl, and Daniel Walker have adopted this project to compete within the 2019 DECA season. Although they were all part of different groups last year, they all found great success within DECA and have also shown commitment and passion for the Unified club.

“[We] decided to work alongside Unified Schools and Special Olympics Minnesota for our project because we all have been personally touched by the program and the students in it. We plan to create Unified clubs and sports programs within a couple new schools, and also expand the outreach of Unified within the Orono school district. We have found so much joy working with Unified, and we hope to spread this inclusion to as many communities as possible,” said Case.

The project will initially be presented at the state DECA conference in March 2019, and if the project places in the top four in its category, the students will qualify to go to nationals. This year’s national conference will be held in May in Orlando, Florida.