Selma High School students in both the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) and the Extension, Education and Research Track (EXERT) program placed in the top of their categories this week.

At the 2019 DECA State Career Development Conference, sophomore Antoine Hasberry placed second in Restaurant and Food Service Management, junior Carla Carter placed third in Restaurant and Food Service Management and senior Jonia Callines placed third in Quick Serve Restaurant Management.

“Our members displayed how preparation pays off with their exceptional performance at The 2019 DECA State Career Development Conference,” according to a release from the Selma City Schools system. “We made gains and received many positive remarks from our judges. Our chapter was recognized for DECA Honor Roll, adding 20 or more members, our membership campaign, MDA Fundraising and our chapter had the Highest Percentage of Membership Growth in the state.”

These students will represent Selma High School at the International Career Development Conference this April in Orlando, Florida.

“They gave us a scenario about a problem that was in the business so I had to find a creative solution to solve the customers’ problem,” Hasberry said. “It was a place called Bowl Full of Pasta, and the pricing was too high for just one bowl of pasta that the customer could not finish. They wanted to get a kid’s meal that was for 12 and under only. What I did was just make a second menu choice for a small bowl size. Customers would still be able to eat the pasta, but also have a lower price and different portion size. They would also be able to live up to their name.”

“I worked with a restaurant called Crazy Burgers,” said Callines adding that she worked with the salads of the restaurant in her scenario. “The salads were making the customers sick, so I just discontinued the sale of the lettuce until we could figure out what was wrong with the product.”

The students had to think quick with their answers at this competition.

“They gave us the scenario first, then 10 minutes for the study,” said Hasberry. “We had to write down the notes and then go to the judges to talk about our ideas.”

“I was nervous,” said Callines. “I had two judges.”

A group of students also won first place at the EXERT second annual Youth Competition this week.

Junior Carla Carter, sophomore Tatyana Martin, senior Caleb Gilford, junior Trinity Rivers, senior Ke’Von Jackson, junior Jeffery Gardener and senior Davis Askew took first place for their STEM Bus project.

The advanced drafting class and Robotics Team came up with the design of the STEM bus.

“We had 3-D printers inside the bus,” said Gardener. “We had to explain how we did the project, and we had to write a paper as well about the bus and how we came up with the idea.”

The work was delegated to different members of the group, according to Gardener.

“We came up with the name ‘STEM on Wheels,’” said Askew. “We wanted to do a mobile classroom. We wanted to have maximum space. We did collapsible tables and stackable chairs in our design.”