MEET A FEW MEMBERS OF HUMBER'S BACHELOR OF COMMERCE DECA-U CHAPTER
March 7, 2018
Bachelor of Commerce students involved in Humber’s DECA Chapter have been hard at work this year, and they have no intention of slowing down. So far, the chapter has competed in over six invitationals this academic year and has won or placed in the top three in numerous DECA competitions. Between school, jobs and their DECA commitments, some members of the Humber DECA Chapter were able to free up some time to talk about their experience with DECA and how it is helping them in their educational and career pursuits.
Sergiy Fomin
Since the start of the 2017 School year, Sergiy Fomin, a fourth-year Bachelor of Commerce: International Business student, has served as the Co-President of the DECA Humber Chapter. A veteran DECA competitor, Sergiy has competed in ten competitions. So what made Sergiy decide to dive into the world of DECA?
“When I was in my third year I realized that I was not going anywhere with my business orientation. I was studying for my Bachelor of Commerce, but I had very little understanding of what that actually means,” says Sergiy. “Then I found out about Humber DECA and I thought that was the way to get to know more about what it actually means to be a business student.”
When asked to describe his role as Co-President, Sergiy said: “The role of Co-President is truly an interesting position. Mostly my responsibilities revolve around making sure the club is operating and delegates are satisfied. This entails maintaining communication with various stakeholders within and outside of the Humber community, planning for various events and invitationals, and making sure everybody is on the same page.”
Victoria Salton
Victoria Salton is currently working towards her Bachelor of Commerce: Finance degree. This will be Victoria’s second year on the DECA team, and, so far, she has competed in two competitions. But Victoria’s contributions to the Humber DECA Chapter encompasses much more than competing in invitationals.
“I worked alongside our VP of Marketing to develop a new logo for Humber DECA," says Victoria. "From there, we redesigned our Facebook page and rebranded our chapter through public speaking at orientation events, as well as planning and executing a recruitment event, which was held at the Centre for Entrepreneurship on campus. Moving forward, my responsibilities also consisted of developing a new recruitment and selection program.”
Harshil Pambhar
Harshil Pambhar is a second-year Bachelor of Commerce: Finance degree student. He joined DECA to gain some practical business experience, meet new people and network with professionals and students.
Harshil shared some great insights into the challenges of DECA competitions: “You have to think about the solution very quickly during the competition. The solution has to impress judges, which can be hard to do. You have to think out-of-the-box and give an answer that would be very different from your competitors. Even after practicing and thoroughly going through all the past cases, the actual competition could have a totally different case with a problem that you have never encountered before.”
MaryJo Tullo
MaryJo Tullo joined the DECA chapter during her third year as a Bachelor of Commerce: Marketing student, but, she says, it’s been such a great journey, she wishes she had started earlier. MaryJo Tullo is nearing completion of her Bachelor of Commerce Marketing Degree and is also an entrepreneur. She has a Marketing Agency called MaryJo Marketing Inc. Recently, she won at the International Career Development Conference in Washington D.C. State winners from across the United States and Ontario attend this conference. She won Top 15 in Marketing Management, specifically winning Top 7 in Test Score. She has also won 1st Place at the Schulich School of Business, and the University of Guelph Humber. She was 2nd at the University of Waterloo. She has really enjoyed meeting other delegates and professionals locally and internationally. She has been selected as VP of Strategy for the Humber DECA Chapter, and looks forward to applying everything she learned this year to make the chapter better.
“I think winning some competitions will help reaffirm to clients and employers that I am a top candidate in my field. Furthermore, building my network can help me find a job.”
Muhammad Hannad Ahsan
Muhammad is a first-year Business Management Diploma student and young entrepreneur. He first got involved with DECA after attending a DECA event at the Entrepreneurship Building. So far, Muhammad has been to two invitationals, and, with his partner Mary Jo Tullo, won first place in the International Marketing category at the University of Guelph-Humber competition, and placed in second in the Human Resources Competition at the York University Invitational. Muhammad has found that these competitions are an excellent way to expand and hone his business skill set. To any Business students interested in joining the DECA team, Muhammad had this advice:
“DECA is a platform where you can grow your skills and be in contact with employees that were once in your shoes. DECA isn't as time-consuming as you think. You may need to practice, but if you have the mindset that you want a specific career, DECA is able to provide many opportunities where you can solve problems, find solutions, and gain practical experience!"
Congratulations to all Humber DECA delegates and good luck with future invitationals!
Sergiy Fomin and Harshil Pambhar
The Humber DECA Chapter
Victoria Stalton
Muhammad Hannad Ahsan & Mary Jo Tullo