Just before the statewide school closures and the cancellation of events and activities, several New Berlin Eisenhower and West students placed or medaled at the Wisconsin DECA District State Career Development Conference at The Grand Geneva in Lake Geneva March 10-12.

During the event, the New Berlin students displayed their strong leadership, savvy decision-making and smooth communication skills while competing against 1,600 students from across the state.

Eisenhower’s Anjaly Nagarajan placed first in Hotel and Lodging and second in Start-Up Business Plan, as teammate Nishi Upadhyay placed first in Innovation Plan. The West team of Joshua Lange, Noah Miller and Jacob Lange took first in International Business Plan.

The Langes also teamed for fifth in Business Law & Ethics Team. Also fifth was West’s Elizabeth Schulz in Automotive Services Marketing while her teammates Wes Evans in Apparel & Accessories Marketing and Charlie Blinka and Noah Miller in Financial Services Team took sixth.

The Eisenhower trio of Suzanne Bian, Melisa Erman and Rachel Schaefer placed fourth in Integrated Marketing Campaign. Erman also was seventh in Food Marketing and Ike’s Alisha Kansra was seventh in Retail Merchandising.

Eisenhower medalists were Bian and Rachel Schaefer in Travel and Tourism, Naisha Bepar in Business Services Marketing, Shriya Kansra in Automotive Services Marketing and Kendall Witt in Principles of Hospitality and Tourism. West’s medalists included the Langes in Management Test; Evans in Marketing Test; Blinka and Miller in Role Play; and Julie Vogel in Principles of Marketing.

The following competitors qualified for the international competition, which was to be held in Nashville at the end of April before it was cancelled as a result of the pandemic: Eisenhower’s Nagarajan, Upadhyay, Bian, Erman, Schaefer, Alisha Kansra, and Bepar, and West’s Jacob Lange, Joshua Lange, Noah Miller, Blinka, Evans and Schulz.