I chose to research the DECA

program at Hopkins High School

in Hopkins, MN. The school
website includes the following
description: DECA is an
international association of high
school and college students
studying marketing, management,
entrepreneurship, finance,
hospitality, and sales. DECA is
not only for students interested in
business, but for anyone that is interested in developing leadership skills as well as networking
with professionals and peers around the world. In addition to learning more about business,
DECA plans school events and social outings.
DECA members focus in developing business and leadership skills throughout the year
culminating in year end competitions, which are judged by business professionals. The reason
for joining DECA is to gain real world business experience, an understanding of careers as they
relate to the business world. Also, opportunities to build your presentation and leadership skills
are presented throughout year-long activities and competitions. Another benefit to joining DECA
is the networking and business connections that can be made.
Here is a list of what appears to be their events for the year: new member only workshop, DECA
student & parent night, team cluster even practice, sales & interview practice, real practice
competition, practice testing & strategy, real practice competition, district competition briefing
and state qualifier meeting.
Their program has a Facebook page and they also has a Twitter account. They are definitely
using FB as a communication tool for meetings and other various reminders. They are also
using it for recruitment as they posted a promo video. There are posts talking about meeting up
with DECA programs from other schools (St. Louis Park) to go bowling. This certainly is a form
of networking, which is invaluable. They are using FB as a way to conduct surveys.

Red Wing High School in Red Wing, MN offers a Future Farmers of America program (FFA). In
this program, students participate in a wide range of contests that develop career skills,
community service projects as well as state and national leadership conferences. They are
certainly using their FB page as a means of communicating important information pertaining to
meetings and important dates as well as job postings for teachers in their high school.
Some of the main activities Red
Wings FFA organization
manages are: Hunger Month
Food Shelf Drive and Poverty
Night, Adopt a Highway, Earth
Days First Grader events, Day of
Service and Caring. This
organization is open to students in
grades 8-12. To be honest, I was

caught off guard by the fact that this organization has far more to do with character and
leadership than it does farming. Students are really focusing on community service and being a
contributing member to society.

The Career & Technical

Education in Minnesota
Facebook page has a
wealth on information.
Career and technical
education, otherwise known
as CTE, are programs that
not only provide you with
the knowledge you need,
but also provides
opportunities for you to
apply the knowledge in work
situations. These types of
programs are designed for all levels of learners from high school students to adults looking to
make a career change. Degrees, certificates or diplomas can be earned in as little as 4-6
months.
Their FB page highlights all sorts of activities, speakers, workshops and other learning
opportunities. They highlight college information from scholarships to news regarding application
details. There are a wide range of videos on their FB page which adds a great deal of additional
information. I cant locate a specific community service project in which they support unless you
identify their efforts in providing CTE education to really anyone who seeks it out. You could
certainly argue this is a serviced based effort.

Minnesota based Business Professionals of America is an organization that was created in

1973 for the purpose of providing direction to students interested in careers in business
management, office administration, information technology as well as other related career fields.
This organization focuses on building skills in leadership, citizenship, academic and
technological skills.
I was unable to find a specific
high school with a BPA
Facebook page. This page is
designated for MN as a whole.
Again, the overwhelming
theme that seems to be
focused on by this BPA is
communication. There is a lot
of information pertaining to
upcoming events, speakers,
conferences and other related
information for members. This
is an outlet for local chapters

to communicate and shared experiences they have had at conferences or other related events.
There are a lot of posts pertaining to local BPA chapters earning awards of accolades in local
and regional competitions. There is also a recruitment element in the sense that there are posts
regarding membership deadlines.

HOSA stands for Health

Occupation Students of
America. They state
their mission is to
enhance the delivery of
compassionate, quality
health care by providing
opportunities for
knowledge, skill and
leadership development
of all health science
technology education
students, therefore,
helping students to meet
the needs of the health
care community.
One event they have advertised about on their Facebook page is a an Emergency
Preparedness Camp. During this event, members will learn about first aid, psychological and
mental health first aid, trauma, winter survival, leadership and crisis intervention in behavioral
health. This even is in partnership with the MN National Guard, Department of Health-Office of
Emergency Preparedness, Home Land Security and MN HOSA Advisor Staff. There is a State
Leadership Conference for MN HOSA members. The 2015 State HOSA Competition is in St.
Cloud on April 8-10.
There again are posts related to reminders for key information such as membership deadlines
and dates. Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) training registration deadlines for example is one of
the pieces of information they advertise on their FB page. They promote HOSA training
opportunities for local chapters in order to become stronger in the focused areas. Another thing
they do is promotes. There was a post about the HOSA State Officers and how they attended
the School Board Association Conference in Minneapolis for the purpose of promoting their
organization.