MARYSVILLE – Three Marysville Getchell DECA students have qualified for state after placing in the Area 1 competition last weekend.

Courtney Taylor placed first out of 30 competitors in Apparel and Accessories Marketing.

Taylor had no chance to prepare as it was a role-play. “I found out the situation that I had to act out ten minutes before I met with my judges,” she said. “It is a test of how well you can think on your toes.”

Her situation consisted of coming up with a advertising technique to rebrand a company previously directed toward 35-50 year olds and sell the product to the 18-29 age demographic.

“To do this, I had to explain various ways to incorporate social media into our advertising,” she said.

The team of Caden Natterstad-Goda Katkuke placed fourth out of 12 in Innovation Plan. In their event, they wrote a five-page paper and presented a slide show in a “Shark Tank” setting.

Caden and Goda created the idea for a company known as Toolbox. They focused on waste and overconsumption in America. They created a resource library where people could check out something like a blender and return it for others to use, rather than buying the item.

This qualifying round was at Glacier Peak High School, while the State Career Development Conference is March 1-3 at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. An international competition will be April 21-24 in Atlanta.