Truman DECA Student Receives Honor at State Capitol

Truman High School student and DECA member Lorinda Ruz was honored by Missouri lawmakers inside the Capitol Rotunda Wednesday, May 18. Competing against students from across the country at DECA’s International Career Development Conference in Nashville, Ruz was the only metropolitan Kansas City area finalist and was one of just six Missouri students/teams to medal.

“Lorinda placed in the top eight out of more than 200 competitors,” said Erica Hart, Truman’s DECA sponsor. She was one of three Truman students, joining classmates Shelby Fordham and Savannah Hawley, who qualified for nationals. “I was very happy with all three ladies’ performance,” Hart said.

Lawmakers recognized Ruz and her Principles of Business Management project and presented her and the other Missouri winners with a proclamation, followed by an honorees reception. Nearly 450 DECA students from Missouri represented the state at the conference.

DECA is an international association of high school students studying marketing, finance, hospitality and management. During the conference, students participated in more than 40 events including principles of business administration, business planning and operations, marketing research, fashion merchandising promotion, advertising, leadership academies and entrepreneurship projects.