Advocating is My Roman Empire

Eva Ho

2023-2024 Vice President of Marketing

With a membership of over seven thousand members, Tennessee DECA is rapidly increasing in number. With these emerging leaders, comes advocacy; in other words, the idea of expressing support for a cause. And, yes, like the many people on TikTok who continuously think about the Roman Empire, DECA members, too, continuously think about being an advocate leader.

To Be An Advocate Leader

Being an advocate leader is a crucial part of maintaining a successful chapter. To be an advocate leader, one must have the ability to recognize a cause and support it to the fullest extent in order to further that awareness and make a change. Communication, collaboration, professionalism, and dedication are all important qualities to advocate for, and, although many of us are young students, we still possess the power to voice our opinions, whether that be on behalf of our DECA chapter, or on various issues on a much larger scale.

The Importance

Advocacy helps people come together to resolve an issue or, at the least, bring attention to it. Without those passionate leaders, there would not be change, and tasks would not be completed. Like mentioned before, we as DECA leaders have the potential to advocate for our chapters to increase membership, fundraise, get sponsors, host events, communicate with our community, etc. However, we as people, can also be more educated and supportive of critical issues in the real world. It is important to stay educated on these topics and be updated because being well informed allows you to learn more about the world we live in and the functions of society.

The First Step

Within a chapter, start by raising awareness to the audience of a school and then to the local community. Now having the technology, using social media platforms like Instagram are a great way to get your voice out there. Even going in the announcements or catering a fundraiser/event to a specific charity, is all part of making that first step to become an advocate leader. Now, realistically, a teenager in Tennessee will not instantly solve the problems around the world. Although, with our advocacy, we are still able to contribute to change, and, even if it’s small, small change is significant, too.

Implementing This In Your Chapter

At the end of the day, all voices matter, and a strong leader must encourage advocacy for their chapter and team. The importance of advocacy is not talked about enough in this young generation, and this generation needs it the most with all the opportunities that can be used to advocate and all the issues that need awareness. So, Tennessee DECA, let’s come together and make being an advocate leader the next Roman Empire.

THE DECA DIFFERENCE