Cathy Jimenez, a senior at Global Connections High School, has been named Student of the Month by the Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce. "Being a part of Global Connections DECA has been one of the biggest life- changing experiences I have had," said Cathy. "It has helped me to become a more confident person who believes in myself and in the power of youth." DECA is an international association of high school and college students studying marketing, management, and entrepreneurship in business.

Cathy's journey began her junior year when she took her first marketing class. Introduction to Marketing helped her reflect on the way she saw herself and others. "I was amazed to see myself and my peers becoming confident young adults as we had opportunities to exercise our leadership abilities."

Cathy was elected as an officer for her DECA chapter. This year she has taken Advanced Marketing and Retail Management. She hopes to provide the same experience that was given to her through DECA to other Intro to Marketing students.

In addition to her work with DECA, Cathy is also captain of the gymnastics team and co-president of her school's National Honor Society chapter. She is currently working on gathering a group of students to coordinate an electronic conference to connect students from Highline with students from around the country - to share ideas and learn from one another - eliminating the need to travel to attend expensive national conferences.

As her senior year is coming to a close, Cathy is excited to head off to college to continue her education and to be the second person in her family to go to a university. While in college, she plans to study creative writing and film. In the future, Cathy would like to run her own coffee shop.

For more information on DECA, visit their website at: http://www.deca.org/