Nicole Sacco, a senior at the Cranston Area Career and Technical Center and Cranston High School West, was sworn in this past fall as the president of the Rhode Island chapter of DECA, an international association of marketing students.

Sacco is enrolled in her third year in the Entrepreneurship program at CACTC and was sworn in during DECA’s fall leadership conference. Her tenure as president will take her through to the end of the school year.

“As a junior I was on the state action team for DECA, and I liked the monthly meetings, getting involved, helping, and having a say,” she said. “The state advisor suggested that I should run for president.”

After some consideration, Sacco decided to make the leap. She gave her speech at the DECA state competition in the spring, and won the position.

“It’s a cool job to have,” she said. “At nationals in Nashville this past April, there were international competitors from all around the globe. Instead of competing there, I was able to participate in a leadership program, and through that I gained a wealth of knowledge about how to create better leadership skills. I participated in a lot of caucuses and I did a lot of voting throughout the week. It was great to see who was elected.”

In addition to her leadership skills from the national event, Sacco enjoyed meeting the other participants from around the world and trading state pins and hats, which are a hot commodity throughout the conference. She is especially excited that she will have a very special privilege at the next DECA event.

“I am going to be the one carrying in the flag for Rhode Island at the next opening ceremony,” she said.

Sacco is currently in the midst of the same process many of her peers are also going through – applying to college.

“I am heading to a four-year college, although I’m not sure which one yet,” she said. “I am looking into chemistry and other related medical majors, and I’m also looking at management minors because I am very much like two different people with so many interests and skills in both of those areas. I love event planning and management, and I love exploring medication interactions. I want to be in a lab coat all day long.”

CACTC Director Gerry Auth is proud of the state leadership coming out of Cranston, and of the opportunities CACTC is providing its students.

“Career and technical centers really give students a leg up in both leadership opportunities and in college credits, and it’s great to see students like Nicole taking advantage of these opportunities with one of the biggest student organizations in the state, through the Entrepreneurship program,” he said.

This November, Sacco will be heading to another leadership conference and will be taking college-level leadership and management courses throughout the weekend. She will also be bringing other students with her, preparing them to take on leadership roles of their own in the future as she prepares for graduation and college.

“I have such a great opportunity to bring other kids with me from Rhode Island from the state leadership team,” she said. “They’ll be working on their leadership skills so that they can take over and lead on after I’m gone.”