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WWU DECA student Gabrielle Smith takes first place at international competition

Environmental policy major wins Sales Management and Leadership competitive event

by Jennifer Nerad

University Communications

Gabrielle Smith poses with her first-place award for the Sales Management and Leadership competitive event from the Collegiate DECA International Career Development Conference. Photo courtesy of Gabrielle Smith.

Western Washington University senior Gabrielle Smith earned first place in the Sales Management and Leadership competitive event at the Collegiate DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC), held April 18-21 in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Smith, a College of the Environment senior from Seattle, plans to graduate in June with a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy, with minors in economics, food security and policy, and Honors interdisciplinary studies. Smith looks forward to a career in environmental law. 

DECA is a competitive business club where students participate in professional development, practice leadership skills, network with business leaders and entrepreneurs, and prepare for successful careers through real-world experiences.  

Previously, Smith placed third at ICDC in 2023 and tenth in 2022. This year, she served as vice president of operations for WWU DECA. Smith has been an active member of DECA since her freshman year of high school. 

“DECA has genuinely become a key element of my education. It has fostered my communication, presentation, professional, and quick-thinking skills — and, most importantly, it has improved my confidence by showing me that, even though I don’t consider myself a ‘businessperson,’ I can excel in a professional space,” she said. 

Smith is advised by Professor Troy Abel, who teaches environmental policy in the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy. 

“Gabbi is one of the most intellectually curious, capable, and mature undergraduate students I’ve had the pleasure to work with,” said Abel. “As my teaching assistant for Environmental Law and Policy, she also brought a level of joy and emotional intelligence that’s even rarer in my experience.” 

Smith was one of ten WWU students who received top awards at the state DECA competition in March and was joined at ICDC by fellow WWU DECA members Kayleigh Bader, Sammy Reid, Christopher Lee, and Miriam Alexa Garcia Jimenez.  

Learn more about WWU DECA and other student clubs in the College of Business and Economics. degrees in the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy. 

Jennifer Nerad covers Western’s College of the Environment and College of Business and Economics for the Office of University Communications. Have a great story idea? Reach out to her at neradj@wwu.edu.