Oxford’s DECA chapter had a tremendous showing at the international competition in Anaheim— with one Oxford High group placing third in its category.

The event was attended by over 19,000 students from around the world and all members of the Oxford team earned high marks and praise from judges and conference officials.

Placing third in the “Financial Literacy Promotion Project” category were Sergio Borg, Rick Galbraith and Ben Nuss, who competed against over 200 teams.

Grace Freiberg, Lauren Sakosky and Taryn Tucker also landed among the Top 16 teams that day.

DECA is designed to prepare students for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management.

For their project, Borg, Galbraith, and Nuss said they organized several lessons at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels to teach other Oxford students about money management throughout the school year.

“Obviously, this was super rewarding. Our project was a little bit different than the others and we had a lot that was going on throughout the year. It was a lot of work managing it all and to see it come through and conclude in a way that was so successful. It was really a nice experience for all of us,” said Galbraith.

All three intend on competing as a group at next year’s competition.

“I am extremely proud of the achievements of all of the Oxford students who attended,” said DECA Advisor Steve Ruch. “Their hard work and attention to detail was outstanding.”