GCU News Bureau
Grand Canyon University President Brian Mueller was walking through the airport in Washington, D.C., last week when, much to his surprise, he came across a sea of 10 purple-clad students and their equally spirited advisor.
It was none other than Dr. Kelly Damron and the Collegiate DECA chapter from GCU. They were in Washington to compete in the International Collegiate Development Conference (ICDC), and they were getting the attention of other travelers as well as Mueller.
“Hopefully he was pleased to see us supporting GCU, but also that we represented well academically at ICDC,” Damron said.
They sure did. The 10 students marked GCU's largest representation ever in the annual event, and four entries made the top 10:
Advertising Campaign: Skyler Faulkner
Business-to-Business: McKenzie Shaver and Samantha Sciubba
Fashion Merchandise and Marketing: Camryn Jackson
Marketing Management: Francisco Ortiz
Ortiz also was a finalist in the Sales Challenge. He is an online student getting his MBA from GCU who also is a high school DECA advisor in the Humboldt Unified School District in Prescott.
Shaver attended ICDC in 2017 and also finished in the Top 10 in Event Planning. Jackson was one of four GCU freshmen in the competition.
GCU was the only Arizona institution to earn the Presidential Passport Award – the highest of three levels – for the activities its chapter completed during the academic year. GCU was one of only two institutions that completed the Advocacy Campaign.
DECA is a competitive business and social club that helps students build career skills and get involved in the community. Collegiate DECA of GCU has raised money for Phoenix Children’s Hospital and helped build a playground at the Salvation Army in Phoenix through KABOOM! It also mentored a high school DECA chapter and hosted professional speakers.
