Being fourth in the nation is in itself a great achievement, but being fourth in the world is reaching a whole different level. Senior Chandler Hays just competed in the International Career and Development Competition, winning a test medal, multiple final medals and the title of being fourth in the world. Hays competed in the professional sales competition where he solely focused on the hospitality and tourism professional selling aspect. He had to design a pre-prepared sales pitch as a catering sales manager for a hotel of his choice (Talking Stick Resort) and he had to plan two breaks, two lunches, a dinner and a seated reception. After he had planned and prepared his presentation, Hays presented that to a set of judges where he was judged based off of performance, and a one hundred question multiple choice test to get the final medalists. Hays did not get here on his own, he went to this competition with the support of his classmates as they competed too. President of DECA Maggie Bauman, personally competed in the international competition in her own group. Bauman and her group did not place but they were very proud  of their performance and presentation. As a fellow competitor with Hays, Bauman provides an inside perspective of this fierce competitor,

“Chandler is a very relaxed person and does not take things too seriously, but when it is time to buckle down he becomes a different person, a very serious and has his head in the game.” Hays is not the only international finalist that Perry has seen, under the teaching of Rob Lange, has had five finalist under his instruction with Hays being the highest scoring competitor. Lange has been teaching Hays this past year and describes him as “grace under fire, he doesn’t get rattled he keeps calm and goes with the flow.” Hays has put in numerous hours to improve what he has control over, like his multiple choice tests and his presentation skills. In the classroom, Hays is more quiet, “he is like a book, where the story line changes every day.” To describe him in one phrase, Lange states “he is just a cool dude,” he is described as, smart, funny and overall a good kid. Hays plans on using all of his skills learned in F301 in his future careers. As far as college goes, Hays plans on majoring in marketing and professional selling at the college of his choice. He has not only impacted his peers with his hard work and his character but he has left his mark on this campus as being fourth in the world.