Three Seekonk Students Excel at RI Conference

St. Mary Academy — Bay View Students Earn Top Marks at Rhode Island Career and Development Conference

Students Lauren Adamonis, Yiling Brady and Marya Cheema from Seekonk place in top 20

Riverside, RI – In its very first year as an official DECA chapter, St. Mary Academy – Bay View made an extraordinary debut at the Rhode Island Career and Development Conference (RICDC). Ten students competed on Saturday, February 7, 2026, at Johnson & Wales University, joining more than 700 students from 21 schools across the state. Every Bay View competitor placed in the top 25 of their respective events, an impressive accomplishment for the school’s inaugural year in the international business organization.

DECA is an international organization whose mission is to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. Students competing at RICDC were evaluated through a combination of written exams and live role-play scenarios. Competitors were given 15 minutes to prepare for their role-play presentations without the use of outside resources before presenting to judges.

Theodora Minca ‘27, of Providence, earned first place in the Principles of Finance competition, while Yiling Brady ‘27, of Seekonk, MA, earned second place in the Principles of Entrepreneurship competition. These placements secure both students' qualifications for the International Career Development Conference in Atlanta this April.

“The students in this club learn about a variety of business topics, practice role-play scenarios and then compete at the state level against other teams,” said Hannah Pease, advisor to Bay View’s DECA chapter and Chair of the Mathematics Department, who accompanied students to the conference. “Most of our students competed individually, though one pair participated in a team event. I am incredibly proud of how they represented Bay View in our very first year.”

This year marks Bay View’s inaugural year as a DECA chapter. The program was launched largely through the initiative of senior Lauren Adamonis. After seeing the impact of DECA chapters at other schools, Lauren approached Pease about establishing a chapter at Bay View. Thanks to her leadership and determination, the chapter now has 16 active members, with 10 students competing at this year’s state conference.

Bay View looks forward to building on this early success as the chapter continues to grow, and as Minca and Brady prepare to represent the school on the international stage this spring.