A record 135 Mercer Island High School students have qualified to compete in the Washington State DECA State Career Development Conference that will take place March 1-3 in Bellevue.

They are among more than 200 students from MIHS who competed in DECA’s Area 3 event in January with 1,000 other students from local area high schools. MIHS has the fourth-largest DECA chapter in the state. Teachers Jennifer McLellan and Shannon Tapp are the chapter’s co-advisors.

“We are beyond thrilled and proud of how our MIHS students performed at the extraordinarily competitive Area 3 DECA competition,” said McLellan, the district’s college and career readiness coordinator.

DECA is an international student organization that provides real-world experiences to students who aspire to become entrepreneurs and business professionals. Students describe how they would tackle business case studies, judged by business professionals. They also submit written or creative projects and papers that have included international business plans, innovative entrepreneurship plans and ad campaigns.

More than 3,500 students from across Washington are expected to compete at the state competition. Over the course of three days, hundreds of industry judges and DECA volunteers gather to assess and evaluate DECA students in competitive events. DECA’s emerging leaders are put to the test during multiple rounds of examinations and performances. On day three, the winners are revealed and Washington DECA’s delegation to the International DECA competition in Atlanta is announced.

See www.mercerislandschools.org for more.