On Tuesday at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, the top 10 DECA International Career Development Conference finalists waited with baited breath on stage, all wondering the same thing: would they be one of the top three winners?
Coppell High School sophomore Yuvan Sampath was one of these finalists who secured a place in the top three, winning third place.
“It was a surreal experience,” Sampath said. “I already could not believe I was up on that stage as a top ten finalist in the first place. Then I heard my name being called and my hands instinctively shot up to my head.”
This is the first time that Coppell has had a DECA International Career Development Conference glass trophy winner.
“The best part of it was seeing the rest of the students’ reactions,” DECA advisor Richard Chamberlain said. “They were so excited for [Sampath] and so excited for the chapter.”
The first time Coppell had finalists in the top 10 was in 2016, and has grown significantly over these past eight years, with the achievement of the glass trophy being the latest highlight for the chapter.
“I think it is very exciting and it is definitely a monumental moment in Coppell DECA history,” junior DECA president Yashitha Chunduru said.
Winning a glass trophy has been one of the chapter’s goals for several years now.
“Mr. Chamberlain is such a great advisor and in all of his years of teaching, his one goal has been to get one of his students to win glass, and me being able to do that for him is such a great feeling,” Sampath said.
Sampath’s event was a solo role play event. This begins with a 100-question test, followed by the main role play event. The person gets a random prompt with a performance indicator as well as a situation, which is the person’s character and their judge who they will be presenting to. They then get 10 minutes to memorize the prompt and prepare notes and visuals to present to the judge.
“It is a very high pressure situation for this event, and I think I just work well under high pressure situations,” Sampath said.
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