DECA students travel to New York to pursue marketing

Standing at the Barclays Center, Marketing students wait to watch the New York Islanders game.“The hockey game was really fun. “I was a lot more into that than if we watched a Nets game,” Weber said.
November 15, 2017
Rather than sitting in a classroom, 10 marketing students involved in Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) flew to New York from Nov. 8-12 to get hands-on experience of a marketing career.
“The DECA New York trip gave students a feeling what a typical day would be like for someone involved in marketing,” sponsor and marketing teacher Holly Weber said. “[From] visiting multi-millionaire businesses to failed companies, I personally think it’s a great experience for students who decide to pursue marketing after high school.”
Students who went on the trip met with professionals who specialized in marketing and are now working in a high profile career.
“We met with this guy who went to University of North Carolina and worked for Sports Illustrated in New York,” DECA officer and senior Blakley Gibeaut said. “I learned a lot about what a specific job in marketing is like in the real world. It was really cool to see a real life person who had a job in marketing who came from somewhere just like us.”
Not only did these interactions leave an impression on Gibeaut, but also influenced junior Adam Farris as he realized what it took to become a marketeer.
“It shows what it takes and what you need to do to succeed with it and how other people trialled and failed, and some people did better,” Farris said. “And you have to see what the people did better, what they did [to succeed] and you work off of that.”
After the five day trip, Weber was glad to see how it inspired her students to consider pursuing careers in marketing.
“My overall feelings about the trip are that it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and a great chance for students to see and do all the things we talk about in class,” Weber said. “I hope that my students are more motivated to learn about marketing because of this trip. I believe that they enhanced their understanding of the topics we’ve studied in the classroom, and my feeling is that they are more prepared to take on the complex situations they will face during the next stage of their lives because of being with us.”
![The narrow lens contrasts with a diverse reality; whitewashing means altering or concealing something to make it more appealing to white people. The word “whitewashed” as it is used today has caused identity crises for thousands, if not millions, of students. “I have been called whitewashed before, and it feels very sad. [It’s] just hard because it makes me not know who I am. You don’t get a lot of backlash for [saying it], so I think it’s a throwaway term for people who aren’t affected by it. When you are the person [who] is being called whitewashed, over time, it builds up,” sophomore Raaga Golla said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5740-1-300x200.jpg)
![Two of Pathfinder’s most recent editorial accolades shine on display in journalism teacher Lindsey Katz’s room. Pathfinder was recognized as a SNO Distinguished Site on April 24. “Praise isn’t everything, but it feels so nice to see the hard work of our staff recognized. So much more than just writing words on a page occurs [in journalism], and I am so glad people see that. I love being surrounded by such talented writers, but also such great people,” editor-in-chief and junior Payton Dean said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DSC_4941-300x200.jpg)


![There are more than 20 open cardio machines at Crunch Fitness. I enjoyed the spacious environment at Crunch, a sentiment that was shared by sophomore Sanjana Daggubati. “[Going to] Crunch Fitness was the right decision because [it] feels more professional. Crunch’s workers are laid back, but not to the point where they don't care,” Daggubati said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IMG_5242-1-300x225.jpg)
![Setting up the activity for his first meeting, Financial Literacy Club founder and sophomore Yash Bandiananthaiah writes on the whiteboard. For the first meeting, Bandiananthaiah created an interactive experience for members to immerse themselves in. “To me, the most important thing during a meeting is to make sure we are all engaged and participating, and [I do this by] always making sure we have a hands-on activity,” Bandiananthaiah said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC5306-1200x798.jpg)
![Hand raised into the air, senior Lauren Anstrom watches as her graduation cap flies along with the caps of all her peers. Anstrom hopes to leave behind the legacy as someone who was kind, hardworking, and always supportive of others. “Tossing my graduation cap honestly felt surreal. In that moment, everything hit me at once with all the excitement, relief and a little sadness too. It felt really emotional [because] this was the end of such a big chapter of my life, but also exciting knowing that everyone was about to start a completely new journey,” Anstrom said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC_3031-Enhanced-NR-2-1200x800.jpg)
![French teacher Blair Hopkins enters City Coffee & Creperie in Clayton, Mo. for breakfast with her Honors French 4 students and AP French 5 students. Both classes went on a field trip to a fair trade chocolate factory in St. Louis to begin their unit on Côte D’Ivoire, a major producer of cocoa beans. “My ideal school would just be the Magic School Bus — you would always learn about things by going someplace and learning hands-on, being able to see it yourself and asking people questions. I think [learning is] always so much more memorable if you can experience it firsthand,” Hopkins said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC2795-1200x798.jpg)