Your favorite musician, your favorite store, your favorite app, and your favorite restaurant all have one major thing in common: they all depend on the skills of the business world in order to fully establish themselves in society.

Business is arguably one of the most flexible degrees an individual can obtain, mainly because it’s a degree that can be applied to virtually any industry. But, in such a competitive and high-demand world, how can a single student learn the skills needed to be successful– and how can an individual learn how to apply those skills in real life?

That’s where the DECA Store comes in. 

DECA is an organization that is committed to preparing future business leaders and entrepreneurs for success in a wide range of industries, including finance, marketing, management, and even hospitality. DECA does this through a series of competitive events, presented in a variety of mediums, in order to not only teach students the knowledge required for the business world, but to also teach them the people skills needed to be successful.

Liberty’s DECA is one of the highest achieving divisions in our district, and one of the reasons so many students are able to participate in these events is because of the relationship between two of the things that LHS loves — the students, and the DECA Store. 

The DECA Store, tucked away across the bottom of the main stairs, is where many Liberty students go to grab something they can’t find in the cafeteria, and support their fellow peers at the same time. When asked about his feelings about where the DECA Store sales are going, Louis Stoyanov (11) loves supporting the community.

“I feel like I’m supporting a community effort and I love seeing student-run storefronts and clubs succeed,” Stoyanov said.

This leads to a bigger question– when did the DECA Store start? Has it always been here at Liberty, or is it something that was added over time?

“The DECA Store started in 2017,” Mrs. Taylor, one of the teacher sponsors for DECA said.

“It is a course within the district called DECA Management, which means all schools within the district have the course and run a school store,” Taylor said.

And when asked about the students she’s looking for to run the store, Taylor expressed her preference to have the students who work at the store be DECA members, since the sales directly help their club, and even discussed a new change being made: DECA Store workers will have their state competition costs fully paid and receive an additional $500 off their International Competition fees.

“I wanted to give back to our store workers. They are the ones in the store helping earn the money for competition costs and I felt they should receive additional funds to support their efforts,” Taylor said. 

She strongly requested that anyone interested in working at the DECA Store and gain that real-world experience to see her so that she can tell them all the information about it. (You can find Mrs. Taylor in Room 431 or email her at [email protected])

“I love going into DECA. The fact that they remember what I always get makes me feel good about myself, because I’m sure they have a lot of customers, but they always remember me,” Kayleigh Tierney (11), a certified DECA Store regular, said, a sentiment surely shared by many students. The kind nature of those working at the DECA Store goes beyond just handing customers what they want– and that nature just adds to the charm of the student-run store. “I love the idea that we get to run a business on our own!” Anna Fleetwood (12), one of the students at the store, excitedly shared her thoughts, “With the store, I’ve been able to have first-hand experience in how a business works, and all the details that go into running it.”  

A place to directly support students, be treated well, and get their favorite treats: The DECA Store not only fosters students’ tastes, but it also fosters the future of the business world.