Yoseline De La Rosa never imagined herself being a leader just a few short years ago, but the senior at Bremen High School in Midlothian is opening doors for both Bremen High School District 228 and herself through an appointment to a statewide post.
She’s been named a public relations officer for the Distribution Clubs of America, an organization that helps students prepare for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management.
“DECA really helped me improve my public speaking skills,” De La Rosa said, adding she has also learned how to network better while making new friends. “That really helped me get out of my comfort zone because I started off as a very shy freshman.”
In her new role, De La Rosa hopes to foster a sense of community, connectedness and competition, which will include bringing other branches of DECA together through meetings and other activities.
She’ll also continue being a leader and role model for students at her school, where she is president of DECA Club. She was vice president as a sophomore and co-president as a junior.
At Bremen, De La Rosa started a Coffee Corner where students can gather to sip java, and has joined other DECA members to help out in their school store and concession stand, where students would invariably ask if they served coffee.
“A lot of DECA kids work at coffee shops, so I thought it was something that could work for us,” De La Rosa said. “It was something that would benefit the customers who were asking for it and the students in DECA who enjoy their jobs making coffee.”
She also helped bring a slushy machine to school this year with funds raised by the Coffee Corner.
“We saw how the addition of the Coffee Corner worked so well and we wanted to expand it even more,” De La Rosa said.
As she moved up in DECA over her high school years, she started conversing more often with Todd Strein, business teacher and DECA Club sponsor, bringing suggestions for the school to him. She’s also in Strein’s business class.
Strein said the National Honor Society had a food drive, which De La Rosa took over last year.
“She’s increased the numbers, we have had more donations,” Strein noted. “This is the 40th year anniversary so she’s taking on an even bigger role this year.
“Her skills are coming through in the food drive,” Strein said.
Strein has also seen De La Rosa’s growth as a self-confident leader over the years.
“Her leadership has grown tremendously,” said Strein. “She has the ability to get things out of people, to get people to do things.
“People love following her.”
De La Rosa said she didn’t know much about DECA until, as a freshman, she saw how the club engaged so many students. She recalled seeing students on a stage during a DECA event.
“They had such an authoritative tone and they were able to pull them into every word they said,” De La Rosa said.
Her other extracurricular activities include volleyball, National Honor Society, Student Council, Peer Jury and Student Safety Committee. Outside of school, she leads her church’s choir group. She plans to study political science and business administration in college and hopes to become a corporate lawyer.
But one of her favorite activities is talking to her mom, hearing about her day and telling her mother about her own. They enjoy going out for a bite to eat or shopping on a mother-daughter date. Her mother is a stay-at-home mom and her dad started a business that remodels houses.
“My mom is my biggest supporter and without her supporting me every step of the way, I wouldn’t be where I am,” De La Rosa said.
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
