VCSU Students Qualify for DECA Nationals
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VCSU) – Valley City State University students Sarah Monilaws and Katie Jones qualified for DECA nationals after taking first place in a team event at the 2026 State Career Development Conference (SCDC), held Feb. 9-10 in Fargo.
Monilaws and Jones teamed up to take 1st place in Event Planning at the DECA state conference. Individually, Jones took 3rd in Travel & Tourism and Monilaws placed 3rd in Hotel & Lodging. The Top 3 finishes qualified them for nationals in all three events, and they’ve decided to compete in their team event at the Collegiate DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Louisville, Kentucky, this April.
The VCSU DECA chapter was honored for the community service project during the state conference opening ceremony, and Monilaws was presented with one of the outstanding member awards.
VCSU advisor Dr. Amber Aberle attended the state conference with Monilaws and Jones. Advisor Wesley Wright will attend ICDC in April. For more information about the VCSU Collegiate DECA Chapter, follow us on Facebook with VCSU Collegiate DECA and on Instagram @vcsudeca.
The state conference in Fargo brought together more than 100 members and advisors from nine chapters across the state. Participants competed in 25 events in entrepreneurship, marketing, finance, hospitality, and management, demonstrating their skills through individual and team role-play case studies and presentations evaluated by business and industry professionals.
Attendees also heard from Midwest entrepreneur Sandi Luck, owner of Bully Brew Coffee, Coffee and Taphouse, and ND Coffee Roastery, who shared insights on building and growing successful businesses in North Dakota.
For more information about North Dakota Collegiate DECA, visit https://nddeca.org/collegiate/