DECA, a club that focuses on business and marketing, recently took a trip to Newcome Ranch on November 18. The purpose of this trip was to teach students team building and important communication skills that they could use not only in DECA, but in future jobs and work situations as well.

Students started out with low ropes, an exercise where you would have to lead your blindfolded partner across the room using only your voice and without hitting any of the obstacles. After everyone was successfully across, they joined together for a group discussion to talk about what methods they used to lead their partners.

“You can observe other people and see what they’re doing to be successful,” Vicky Davidson, one of the workers at Newcome, said. “Communication is important – you need feedback for things to work.”

Another communication exercise was “Rollercoaster,” where students had to hold pipes together and get a golf ball from one side of the room to the other without letting it fall. The main focus of this was to make a plan and discuss it, and that patience is the key to success.

“Don’t get frustrated if things don’t work out perfectly on the first try,” Davidson said. Organization, sharing ideas, and responsibility were the overall take away from the experiment.

Before leaving, students had the option of participating in “High Rope,” exercises that included the buddy bridge, a trust fall, and zip lining. With the buddy bridge, a person and their partner would hold hands in a bridge type of way and walk across 25 foot high tightropes. In the trust fall, a single person would climb up a 36 foot high pole, balance themselves on the top, and then jump off to try to grab a ring. Safety measures were taken before each high rope exercise of course, with the students being securely strapped in harnesses and wearing padded helmets and gloves.

“It was scary but listening to the sound of the instructors’ voice helped reassure me,” first year DECA member Stephanie Mena said.

From this trip, DECA members learned important lessons on working as a team, getting to know each other better, and trusting your teammates, all while having fun at the same time.