PEABODY — Shaylla Fazolo, a sophomore at Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School and city resident, was one of two students from the school to finish among the top five in their disciplines at the State Career Development Conference, recently held in Boston.
This earned Fazolo — who participated in the Professional Selling Event discipline — a spot at the International Career Development Conference on April 23-26 in Atlanta, Ga. alongside her classmate Gabrielle Guimaraes, a senior from Haverhill.
“Congratulations to Shaylla and Gabrielle. It is an honor to have two students to qualify for the International Conference,” Superintendent of Essex Tech Heidi Riccio said. “The competition was fierce, but each of our students performed well and learned many valuable lessons.”
The State Career Development Conference is an annual, three-day event where students can engage in leadership activities, watch speakers and performances, and compete in challenges related to various disciplines. Participating members compete in their respective challenges by role playing and conducting written exams or exercises.
The event also features approximately 200 volunteer judges, who are members of the business community. Winners will receive medals and trophies, and top finishers like Fazolo are given the opportunity to compete internationally.
More than 4,000 students from across the state participated in about 60 competitions, including multiple students from Essex Tech DECA.
DECA, which hosts the State Career Development Conference, is a student-oriented, nonprofit business-and-marketing organization that works with high schools and colleges to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management.
“We have watched as our students have learned and grown, both individually and as a team,” DECA Advisor Joseph Giordano said. “DECA has led them to be stronger in creativity, problem-solving, and self-direction and motivation ― all critical skills they will use wherever life takes them.”
Five other Essex Tech students earned recognition for finishing in the top 12 in their discipline, including Ella Anderson, a junior from Gloucester, and Sophia and Alexia Luchini, juniors from Salem, for Start Up Business Plan; Jessica Donald, a senior from Methuen, for Principles of Hospitality and Tourism; and Divanni Fernandez, a junior from Salem, for the Professional Selling Event.
