Lasell University’s collegiate DECA chapter will send a cohort of seven students to compete at the organization’s International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Baltimore this April. A total of eight students competed at the Massachusetts DECA Association qualifying conference at Stonehill College in February, where they placed in the top tier of their respective categories against teams from Bentley University, UMass Dartmouth, Endicott College, and Stonehill. All students placed in the top five in their respective categories, guaranteeing them a spot to compete at ICDC.

At the ICDC, collegiate chapters from the U.S. and Canada compete in categories related to their fields of study. The Lasell chapter cohort includes: Bianca Almeida ’25 (human resource management), Charles Anderson ’24 (human resource management), Meaghan Csongor ’24 (entrepreneurship), Jillian Nangle ’24 (travel and tourism), Kim Nguyen ’24 (fashion merchandising and marketing), Victoria Savluk ’23 (financial accounting), and Spencer Villinski ’25 (human resource management).

Almeida, Csongor, Nangle, Nguyen, Savluk, and Michael Woo '23 (marketing communications) all received first place accolades at the February qualifying conference. Anderson came in second place, and Villinski in fourth.  

“I am so thrilled to work with a group of such capable students,” says Catharine Weiss, associate professor of fashion and Lasell DECA advisor. “Their energy and motivation is contagious. This powerful student club materialized in just a few years and it is such an honor to watch their success over such a short time. It also speaks volumes to the preparedness and academic prowess of both the Longe School of Business and the School of Fashion.”