When several friends started talking about DECA and how much fun it was, it piqued Sidney Enninga's interest. But it was at the encouragement of her business teacher that Enninga finally decided to join.
That was in her sophomore year at Alexandria Area High School. Now a senior, Enninga serves as the Minnesota DECA vice president of special projects.
DECA is a nationwide student-led organization that extends learning from the traditional classroom and allows students to "experience" their studies in the areas of marketing, finance, hospitality and business management.
"I really wanted a good business experience," said Enninga, the daughter of Jason and Lisa Enninga of Nelson. "And it has been a lot of fun."
Although she is a senior and nearly done with school, Enninga hopes her DECA career isn't over just yet. In April, while attending the International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, Enninga will be vying for the executive president position for the national DECA organization.
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Her campaign team is in place and includes her two campaign managers, Parker Olson and Megan Fletcher; two social media managers, Brooke Miller and Kaylee Weigel; her fundraising manager, Derek Shulstad; and her booth manager, Ethan Patience. Her team members are all juniors at Alexandria Area High School and are all DECA members.
"I was able to choose my own team and these guys have been with me from the start," she said. "I have a great team."
At the conference, she will have her own booth and will be handing out her campaign materials.
Enninga noted that because DECA doesn't allow her to publicly fundraise or have any social media specific pages prior to the conference, her campaign has been challenging, yet fun.
She is in the process of coming up with fundraising ideas and has visited with area business owners one-on-one instead of using a fundraising site, such as GoFundMe. To date, she has raised about $3,000, which is about one-fourth of what she will need to fundraise for her campaign.
Enninga said that if anyone is interested in learning more about DECA and her campaign for president, they can contact her and she would be happy to visit with them. She can be reached by email, sidneyenninga@gmail.com or by phone (call or text), 402-650-9450.
If Enninga is elected to the president position, she said she will opt out of starting college this fall and focus on her duties as the executive president for the next year.
For now, there are two colleges on her radar - University of St. Thomas in St. Paul and Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island. Either way, she will major in finance and would love to become a financial planner/advisor in the future.
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Business symposium
Enninga also shared information about an upcoming event put on by the Alexandria Area High School DECA club.
The Business Symposium, a first-time event for the DECA organization, is for any and all business owners and entrepreneurs who want to learn about website development, finance, how to compete locally and much more, said Enninga.
She said there are three main guest speakers, including:
• Tim Urness, financial advisor with Thrivent Financial
• Tyler Goldberg, co-founder Cybersprout and advisor, Pinnacle Commodity Group
• Craig Olson, senior vice president, Glenwood State Bank
Additionally, there will be other guest speakers, who are business professionals throughout the community, on-hand during the event, including Kevin Engebretson, Daylon Faber, Nicole Mulder, Pete Woit and Craig Zwilling.
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The free event, which is open to the public, is slated for Saturday, Feb. 24, from 10 a.m. to noon at Alexandria Area High School. Lunch will be provided.
