A noticeable chunk of North’s finest students missed school for the first few days of February to travel to Atlanta and compete against other schools in the state DECA competitions. After countless hours of dedication to perfecting plans, ten Raiders won finalist positions in various categories and two NFHS DECA competitors in particular won a first place state award.

Sophomore Jack Ritacco and junior Aaron Honn were the last team to be called to the stage as finalists for the category of Franchise Business plan, and Ritacco vividly recalls the hesitation of the announcer before calling their names. The pair took the stage assuming they were a last choice for the winner, certainly not expecting a complete victory. However, third place was announced, followed by second and then first, when Honn and Ritacco discovered they had won first place over the entire state.

“We never expected to make it as far as we have,” Ritacco stated regarding the win. “I thought our presentation to the judge was stellar – one of the best I’ve ever given. The hours of work we put into our business plan were worth it when we were called onto the stage.” The pair’s win is a clear demonstration of Raider ability to press on with commitment and dedication to the task at hand, and to see that it always pays off.

Ritacco also recognized that the competition certainly did not end when the award was won. “Both Aaron and myself are looking forward to ICDC, the international competition being held in Atlanta this April.” The two plan to take the next two months to further their preparations to compete in even tougher competition.

While the state win was a monumental event in the weekend that North’s DECA competitors spent in Atlanta, the many finalists are not to be forgotten. Patrick Porter and Destin Dominguez were selected as finalists in the category of Business Law and Ethics, Bobby Quesnel was a finalist for the Job Interview category, Bobby Andrews and Ryan Foust won awards as finalists in Hospitality Services, Adarsh Patel and Victoria Telesco were finalists in the Independent Business category, and Bella Angell, Donna Dale, and Megan Martin were the finalists in the category of Buying and Merchandising.

Be sure to offer congratulations to those students in the hallways and wish good luck to Jack Ritacco and Aaron Honn at ICDC!