2 MTSU Jones College of Business students place third in national DECA competition

Savanah Gill, left, and Ella Cobb, both Jones College of Business students at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., are all smiles holding their medallions and glass trophies they received after placing third at the Collegiate DECA Marketing Communications competition during the International Career Development Conference held in Louisville, Kentucky, in April. (Photo submitted)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Two Middle Tennessee State University Jones College of Business students recently placed third in a national DECA competition.

Ella Cobb, a Master of Business Administration student in strategic marketing analytics, and Savanah Gill, a senior digital marketing major, attended the International Career Development Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, last month.

DECA, which stands for the Distributive Education Clubs of America, prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe, according to its website.

As part of the conference competition, the MTSU marketing duo Cobb and Gill were given an hour — equipped with a prompt, blank paper and pens — to apply their knowledge to the prompt, create applicable content and prepare a presentation.

“We were tasked with creating marketing campaigns for hypothetical companies that involved creating social media posts, updating websites, creating strategic plans to promote social media engagement, reposting to expand target markets, and conducting risk assessments,” explained Cobb.

Cobb and Gill had 15 minutes to present their marketing plan to the judge, as if they were the marketing director and marketing communications specialists for the hypothetical company in the prompt.

After advancing into the final round and receiving a blue-ribbon medallion, the pair competed in the finals. At an awards ceremony, they learned they had scored in the top 10 in marketing communications.

“We found out at the closing ceremony who placed in the finals,” Gill said. “We felt good about both rounds, but we definitely didn’t expect to place in the top three in the nation.”

The pair took home third-place trophies, marking their spot among the best in the nation in Collegiate DECA Marketing Communications. The two said it is “a big deal” in the DECA community to win a coveted glass trophy.

Both Cobb and Gill said the experience of competing at the DECA competition is beyond valuable, especially as they begin preparing for their professional careers.

“It allowed me to practice interpreting case studies and working quickly to meet a shared goal,” Cobb said. “I love working with Savanah. We already knew we worked well together when marketing was involved.”

Cobb participated in the conference last year, placing in the top 10%, and will graduate in August with her master’s degree.

Gill graduated with her bachelor’s degree on May 9 and plans to earn her master’s degree in digital media at MTSU.

— DeAnn Hays (deann.hays@mtsu.edu)