By EMMA BARTLETT

Forty-eight students from the CACTC Entrepreneurship program housed at Cranston West earned gold, silver and bronze medals in this year’s state DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) competition on Feb. 11. Seven of them will now travel to Atlanta, Georgia, this April to compete in the national competition.

“The program prepares students to go into any major or directly to work,” said Rick Abruzzini, who runs West’s entrepreneurship program.

DECA, which prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe, is a 75-year-old organization with 175,00 members. The program consists of 3,200 high school chapters, 200 collegiate chapters and 5,000 advisors.

Abruzzini’s students get ready for the statewide competition in September. Students choose to work by themselves or in teams of up to three individuals and will choose one of the following competition categories based on their interest: Business Growth Plan, Entrepreneurship Series, Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making, Franchise Business Plan, Independent Business Plan, Innovation Plan, International Business Plan, Start-up Business Plan and Virtual Business Challenge. Each category consists of a written and oral component and by Christmas, students’ projects are under wraps.

Abruzzini, who has taught in Cranston for 22 years, said students’ results were fairly equivalent to last year’s and that the sophomore class did exceptionally well. He started in the marketing program at Cranston West and switched to Cranston East before returning to West for the entrepreneurship program which has run for the past 12 years.

Juniors Alexandra Cowart and Victoria Minicucci are attending the national conference and received silver medals at the statewide competition under the Independent Business Plan category. The two created a plan for an animal adoption app that partners with shelters. People then create a profile and get matched with dogs.

Cara Steere and Andie Whitcomb, both juniors, worked in a group of three and entered the Community Giving Project category with a fundraiser based on the sarcoma foundation of America; they received a silver medal in the statewide DECA competition for their work.

Eleven schools and 300 students participated in the state DECA competition. In the national competition, Abruzzini said there will be between 50 and 80 students from Rhode Island attending with seven from Cranston. As for the total number of all students at the national competition?

“There will be tons,” said Abruzzini.

Right now, students are revising their projects based on judges’ feedback from the statewide competition. Whitcomb said nationals is more competitive, which students are excited for. Cowart, Minicucci, Steere and Whitcomb agreed that meeting people from other places is one of the exciting parts about DECA. The competitions and entrepreneurship program at Cranston West also prepares them for going into business.

Steere, who will attend the national competition, explained she learned about Cranston West’s entrepreneurship program at an eighth-grade career fair at the Dunkin Donuts Convention Center in Providence.

In entrepreneurship, students learn about broadcast and social media, personal and business finance, management, leadership, sports and entertainment marketing, investments (stocks and bonds), business venture planning and organization, innovation, global economics and financial accounting. They also receive college credit, a Quickbooks certification, NOCTI-Ask Business Certification and OSHA Safety Certification.

Steere would like to pursue sports marketing and entertainment or even sports law after graduating.

Whitcomb said the lessons they learn make it so they can go into many fields. Whitcomb is considering a double major in accounting and dietetics and possibly owning her own nutrition business.

Minicucci said her two brothers raved about the entrepreneurship program which is how she became involved; she would like to pursue a degree in finance or accounting.

Growing up, Cowart said she attended the Future Falcon events with her two older sisters and learned about the entrepreneurship program during that time. She is interested in pursuing interior design in college, noting the skills she learned in entrepreneurship will assist her in that field.

This year’s national DECA competitors include Jesse Mirabal, Cara Steere, Victoria Minicucci, Christina Micheletti, Alexandra Cowart, Amelia Louro and Milana Kadak. Students fly to Georgia April 22 for the conference which takes place from April 23 to 26.