By Jayden Richardson, Guest Writer

DECA, a popular business club based around competition, has reached conditional status here at Xavier.

Junior sports marketing major Caleb Tork is the President of DECA. When he was younger, Tork’s love for sports cultivated his passion for teamwork and community, translating to his desire in sports marketing and working with a team. 

“Just love making people better, along with myself climbing that ladder of success together,” Tork said. Throughout his years at high school, Tork was a part of DECA, gaining a mentor that would aid him in developing the necessary skills for the future.

 “The same business teacher back in high school was my DECA advisor in high school. I learned my soft skills, hard skills, problem solving, critical thinking, etc,” Tork said.

After being in college for three years, Tork came to realize that there was no DECA program at Xavier, so he decided to make a change. 

“Being a part of something bigger than myself, I know how much DECA helped me as an individual back in high school and I want to do the same thing for other kids,” Tork said.

 Tork believes DECA can be used by anyone and their respective fields.

“DECA is not just a business club. I think it’s a career prep club. So anyone who is professionally driven or an emerging leader, I think can absolutely benefit from the club. The main seller point of DECA is the mock competitions, like the state competition in Indianapolis we attended,” Tork said. 

Tork and his team had a chance to solve a real-world problem for companies like Nike, showcasing the quick thinking and adaptability required for when on the job. With the rise of AI, people have been using it to the point where people are using it in everyday tasks; DECA has been a place that uses Chat GPT and other sources for things such as ideas and outlines rather than doing the work for them. 

“I think for individuals to be able to learn that and master that before entering the workforce is big,” Tork said. 

Being presentable and authentic to employers and colleagues is essential in conveying  messaging. When met with challenges, he embraces failure and knows that perfection is not something that is obtained, it’s something that is worked towards. 

Tork recalls being a first-year and how intimidating it can be going into your first year of college.

“It’s definitely a daunting task, but reminding them and all the incoming freshmen that it is okay to fail, it is ok to take a step back. It’s a part of the process. You have a lot of time, more time than you think,” Tork said. 

Topics such as things such as interviews, resumes, and other business-related ventures are also offered through the club DECA. Their first meeting is on September 17th.