He is a Herriman High teacher who makes every student know they really matter. Someone who impacts the course of student lives and their future success every single day.
On his episode of the Supercast, we take you inside Randy Kammerman's classroom where he has become an award winning DECA advisor, building a wildly popular program, leading students to high level careers in marketing and business.
Listen and find out how Mr. Kammerman inspires a love for learning in his classroom, mixed with a couple of laughs along the way.
Audio Transcription
I would say there is a spot for every single kid in DECA, but DECA is not for every kid.
Eat, meet, compete, and you get to meet the best friends. Like all of these people mean so much to me. I would have probably never met them if it didn't, if we weren't in DECA together.
These are great lessons that will translate to a lot of other aspects of your life.
[Music]
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. He is a Herriman High teacher who makes every student know they really matter. Someone who impacts the course of student lives and their future success every single day.
On this episode of the Supercast, we take you inside Randy Kammerman's classroom, where he has become an award-winning DECA advisor, building a wildly popular program, leading students to high-level careers in marketing and business.
Listen and find out how Mr. Kammerman inspires a love for learning in his classroom, mixed with more than a couple of laughs along the way.
We're here at Herriman High School talking with DECA officers. Tell me your name, grade, the event you're competing in, and what position you are in DECA.
I'm Ava. I'm the Business VP. I'm competing in Finance Operations Research, and I'm a junior.
My name is Ana Arriaga. I am one of the presidents this year for DECA. I am– my event is Business Services Operations Research, and I'm a senior this year.
My name is Mackenzie. I'm also a senior this year. I'm VP of Marketing, and I'm competing in Independent Business Plan.
My name is Alex Milad. I am also a senior this year. I am also a Business VP, and I am competing in Business Service Operations Research.
Business Service Operations Research.
Wow, okay. Now tell me which of you has to carry the most for your competition?
Oh yeah, probably yours. So, what do you have to carry?
Tell us about your competition and what you have to...
Perfect. So it's business, the same, I’m Business Services Operations Research, and all of it, all of what it is, it's just a research paper. So we research a company organization and we just make a plan for them. So this year was to implement AI into their company. So all of the things they have to carry into my presentations, there's two of us. So we have posters, we have all of the handouts, which is we have every VM Van that we're gonna hand out. We have an iPad as well. We have a mini poster and I think that's...Oh, and then I also have like this paper handout that's like a driver profile, and yeah, it's a lot of things that we have to carry around.
So you're making a pitch, a well-researched, serious pitch.
Okay, and tell me about your other categories. Tell us about your pitch.
So mine is Finance Operations Research. So it's similar to Business Services, but it's for a finance company. So I'm working with a real estate company, Manning and Clark, to figure out how they can implement AI into their processes.
And are all these real companies?
So you're doing things for real companies as part of your competition. That's really cool. How about you?
Mine is a fake company. So mine is an independent business plan. So I had to– me and my partners came up with a product and ways to develop it. We did the finances for the whole company.
So it's not a fake company, it's a potential company.
It's a potential company. Yes. We made our mock-up prototype. We had an app developer help us out, make us an app to present to our judges. So yeah, we made a whole business plan and we present that. It’s like Shark Tank.
Yeah, I'm also in Business Service Operations Research, and we are working with a construction management company, and they're huge. They do billions every year in revenue. Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, a real construction management company, and we're also doing the same thing, trying to help them incorporate AI into their systems, make things better for them, pitching that to them.
So, talk to me about what is involved in the competition. You are sending more people to nationals than any Utah High School has ever sent to national competition. What do you do leading up to that? Talk me through the year. Not every moment of the year, but what levels of competition, how does this all start?
So it depends on the project. So I started around September. I know Ava started around...
I started my project. It was a school-based enterprise. It was my second project. I started that project in May of 2024 and was working on it.
So you started last school year?
I started last school year.
That's why you all gasped when I said, "Oh, just summarize how you got here." So you started a long time ago. You choose the project. What are the levels of competition for you to qualify for nationals?
So we have three, basically three different events. We have our roleplay events. So there's a bunch of different categories like automotive services, and you can compete in like...
There are team roleplays, individual roleplays. And then there are sales presentations, which it's just a quick pitch to the person. It's like you have some time to prep beforehand, but a lot of it's improv. Roleplay is– all of it’s improv. And then projects, that's the papers that you prepare. So it's either a 10-page paper or a 20-page paper that you prepare all beforehand, and then do a 15-minute presentation on.
And that presentation... So, is there a region competition, and then a state, and then nationals? Or do you just go straight from state to nationals?
So for our projects, it's just state to nationals. So we have to get to the top three in the state to qualify for nationals because our DECA as a whole in Utah is a bit smaller than other states. So, other states they have to qualify their projects for state, but we don't. We do have other competitions, but they're just for roleplays. So you'll go when it's just kind of for fun. You just practice.
Well, yeah, so it's preparing you for state and national competition.
But the only time you'll ever actually present your project is at state.
So we've had more people qualify from Herriman High than at any school in Utah. That's really exciting. You're all smiling at that. You should be very proud of that. That's a really big deal, and your leadership has been a part of that. Is this your first time at nationals for all of you, or did you compete at nationals as juniors and sophomores?
So us three have competed before at nationals. Alex is a first-timer this year.
Last year, I did a project, and it didn't make it. It got fourth place, so you know. I could have let that break me down and be like, I'm not going to do DECA next year.
DECA is all about rising up.
Yeah, it's all about sticking with it and putting in the work. This year, we did it, we made it to nationals.
And how many people are going to nationals?
But you had more than that qualify.
51 qualified, 63 qualifications, so that includes people that double qualified.
So there's kids that do two projects each year. So I did two projects. I did a sales project, and then I did my BSOR project. So I qualify for both of them, so then you have to decide which one to go with. So that's how it works basically.
So tell me where nationals are and what's involved.
ICDC this year is going to be held at Orlando, Florida. And there's like 50,000 high school kids that will come and invade Florida for the whole week.
Are you taking over Disney World?
We're taking over Universal Studios.
Oh, Universal Studios. I've been part of student trips where they shut the park down and teenagers take over. Because I was a high school assistant principal, I was not terrified, but everyone else in the area was.
Everyone else is terrified. Everyone else is scared. But there's about four days of competition. There's a day for testing, a day for presentations, a day for roleplay presentations. And then you have our mini awards in the morning of Tuesday morning, and then you'll find out if you final for your project or roleplay. And if you do final, you have to go present again that day. And then at the end of the night, you'll find out if you've placed.
Talk about the difference between judges at the state level and judges at the national level.
So we both did a project last year together. For state, we did great. Our judges were very nice. Ava:
The judges at state were very involved, and afterwards they were like, “Oh, you did so good, see you at nationals.” And then when we got to nationals, it was a little disappointing. We went up, and our judge didn't give any indication whatsoever the entire time. And then–
Just stone face, watching the presentation, no reaction.
It was really hard to make eye contact with her, too.
She was looking down at her paper the whole time. And so after she got up–
Where was she from? Is she from industry, I assume, from business?
It depends on the city. So most of the time, like last year, it was in Anaheim, so you get a ton of Disney employees, a bunch of ESPN employees all the time, or anybody from Anaheim city itself. Orlando is almost all Disney and surrounding areas. So most this year will be Disney employees of some capacity.
So tell me, what are some of the skills that you have learned being part of DECA these years?
Public speaking. Public speaking was never something I was ever good at before nationals, or yeah, before nationals last year. But then, you know, I was at nationals all alone. I had my little PowerPoint presentation and a basket that had alpacas in it. And I had to go up to this random stranger that was like a business professional and be like, “Hey, will you stay at my resort? Please?”
And so you had to really like just get comfortable being uncomfortable. And you had to understand that, like, even if you know, if they don't like you, it's nothing to do with you. And you just have to go, and you have to do your very best, and talk in the best way you can without stuttering. It was just it was a great lesson to learn.
For me, I would say the thing I found the most is that not everything's about wins and losses. Like this year at state, we had our advisor win advisor of the year, and it was–and he's going to hate me for saying this.
Yeah, he's hating me. But it was a lot cooler than, like, seeing our Business Services, Operations Research, they swept that event. And so seeing stuff like our advisor win advisor fear and having the B.S.O.R. sweep, it's just so much cooler than winning on your own project and succeeding by yourself.
These are great lessons that will translate to a lot of other aspects of your life. And it's obvious that DECA has had a deep impact on you, that it's really changed who you are, and what you believe you're capable of, which is exciting. What drew you to DECA? For those who are listening, thinking, well, maybe I'd like this, or maybe my son or daughter would like this. What made you want to be part of it besides Mr. Kammerman? Because really, he's the draw. He's the magnetic center of DECA at Herriman.
I think Herriman has an unfair advantage to other schools. We have a great advisor who actually cares about our projects. But other than that, like, DECA's very nerdy. Like we all know that. It's very– but you just got to have fun. And so I think that was something that really drew us in. You know, our whole motto is eat, meet, compete. So you come in, high school–
Eat, meet, compete. I like that.
High school kids love free food.
No. Eat, meet, compete. And you get to meet the best friends. Like all of these people mean so much to me. I would have probably never met them if it didn't, if we weren't in DECA together. And so it was just the community that Herriman has built in the DECA program. We have the
biggest DECA program. We have one of the biggest DECA programs in the entire state. And it's just been so cool to like see everyone come from, you know, there's football players and drill, and then there's like the eSports captains. And it's just all of these people that are so different, but they're all coming together for the same reason. And it's just such a cool experience.
So in the Venn diagram of student life, there can be overlap with all of these groups of DECA at the center that pulls you together. What do you love most about Mr. Kammerman's class and being in DECA?
He's one of the most humble people I've ever met in my entire life. He does not like the attention on him.
He's pacing right now as you compliment him. He’s walking around the room trying to avoid it.
The very first time I had his class, I was a junior in high school, it was my first day, I was terrified. I had heard a lot of things about Mr. Kammerman. He has a very big reputation that follows him. And it's great. It's all complimentary. But he just, we walked in on our first introduction. It wasn't like, “Oh, give three facts about yourself.” It's like, “What are you a nerd about?” Like, what do you care about? Like, what do you find weird? And it was just like he automatically makes you feel comfortable. And we ended up submitting him to be educator of the year for the Jazz, which he won.
Well, yes. Yeah. I can think of three awards off the top of my head that he has won.
Yeah. Well, something about Mr. Kammerman, too, is he'll build a connection with every single student. He's not going to just leave certain students in the dust and focus on others. And that really rolls into DECA, like how they're saying, reading 20 to 30-page papers multiple times, leaving feedback, coaching the students rather than just telling them what to do. Having that connection that he already built with us from the first day, it goes so far.
He would print on my towels. For a presentation I had, I wanted towels that were monogrammed. And so he printed on them.
He figured out how to do it.
He figured it out. He doesn't even just care. Like, he doesn't care about us succeeding at DECA or anything like that. But he just genuinely cares about people as people and what they do beyond high school.
And he obviously knows you well.
Oh, yeah. A little too well.
Well, it's really thrilling for me to be able to be here and talk with you and sense that energy that you have around this upcoming national competition. I like your chances. You guys are going to do great. So, congratulations on working so hard and learning so much. I know you're going to carry this with you for a long time. So thanks for representing us well and good luck out there.
Stay with us. When we come back, we'll talk with Randy Kammerman about the DECA program at Herriman High School.
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Hello, I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District, and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here, every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @jordandistrict. We can't wait to connect.
We're talking now with Randy Kammerman, the advisor for DECA here at Herriman High School. It's an exciting week preparing for nationals.
Exciting is a good word for it. It is a good word.
It is all in. I've been in your classroom a number of times because I know you don't like to talk about this, but you've won a number of awards, particularly in the last few months from the Jazz. You were advisor of the year for DECA, teacher of the year. Tell me, what do you love about being the advisor for DECA?
This sounds super nerdy like we've talked about before, but like I was a football coach before I was a DECA advisor, and I grew up my whole life playing sports. And so once I quit coaching, they kind of handed me DECA, and they're like, "Hey, you're going to do this DECA thing." I was like, "All right." So I kind of treat DECA like my sport. It fulfills my competitive juices and stuff. And so I try to preach the whole getting better every day. We call it stacking Ws, like come and get practice. Like you've seen these kids in my room working stuff like that. To me, that's my favorite part. And I mean, if you know anything about sports, you always see people say “Respect the process.” Right. And I never tell our kids, you'll never hear me say, "Oh, you're going to win or we're going to measure our success by winning." It's always, "Did you put in the work?" But you can't be sad if you didn't put in the work. Right. And so for our kids, they always just hear me say, "It's about the process, it’s about the process." And so I think being a DECA advisor and teacher is like getting a little bit better every single day. That's the thing I still love because it fulfills that niche of missing football and coaching, and stuff like that.
What would you say to parents or students who are considering DECA?
I would say there is a spot for every single kid in DECA, but DECA is not for every kid. Right. If your kid is interested in DECA, we can find a spot for him. We can find an event for him. We can figure out any place to put your kid at any talent level. But there are some kids who come and try DECA, and they're one-hitter quitters. They're out. They realize it's not their cup of tea. I would say, if you want your kid to make friends, there's no better place than DECA, because like we were talking about before, you get kids from everywhere. The wrestling team, girls wrestling team, boys volleyball, these newer sports. Plus, you get your DECA kids, your math leads, SBOs, a lot of video game design kids. So there's kids from every walk of life. And so everyone comes together. DECA's one of the things we pride on with our officers is, DECA is a place you get to meet people. That is what we're for because every kid in high school needs to have a place. Right. It doesn't matter what it is. So if your kid walking down the hall that you're not on the football team, you're not in a club, DECA has a place for you. We can teach you this stuff to hopefully be good.
So it's the equivalent of the sports where there aren’t tryouts. If you show up and you keep showing up where you're going to learn, you're going to get better, you're going to grow, DECA's the same way. Whatever talents you bring or interests you bring, as long as you're willing to show up and work, and you're going to meet people and you're going to get better.
And like when our kids say you get to compete, meet, and eat, what they basically say is you get to compete in business, marketing business. That's what we do. You get to meet a ton of people, and you get to eat delicious food because we get to travel. If you ask any kid that ever goes to nationals with us, their core memory from DECA is five years from now, I get a text that's like, "Dude, I'm in Orlando. You're never going to believe I just went to Giordano's. Remember when we were here?" Those are the memories. It's never, "I took top 10 in the country." It's never anything to do with competition. It's always the memories, and so that's what we try to get our kids to recruit is like, "You're going to meet some people and make some awesome memories here."
Yeah, the food does speak to me.
Yes, me too. It's my favorite part.
What's the time commitment for someone? "Okay, I decide I'm going to do DECA." It sounds like you're able to do other things along with DECA. You can stay in your other extracurricular activities and still be really successful.
100%. So the time commitment for DECA is whatever you want to put in. That's what it is. So we have some kids who are naturally gifted speakers. So they come meet with me once and I teach them how to do a DECA roleplay and say, "This is the exact way you’ve got to do it. Come practice with me two or three times before state”, and they'll make nationals. They're just that good. There's some kids that require a lot more work, so it depends on how good you want to be. And so I always tell kids, "Don't let anybody outwork you. If you really want to go to nationals, you're going to put in the effort." And so, like of our 12 DECA officers, almost every single one of them is an athlete of some sort. Swimmer, lacrosse, hockey, tennis, or they have another job. Like we have a couple of our DECA officers that work 30 hours a week. So when you ask the time commitment, it's 20 minutes a day. That's what I'll ask of kids. Like open your paperwork for 20 minutes a day, or come to a roleplay with me. Take 10 minutes to prep, 10 minutes to present, 20 minutes a day, and we'll get you there.
So I've just heard so many lessons from talking with them, talking with you. So many valuable experiences and lessons that will stay with them for a long time. You talked about getting the texts five years later. Tell me about the lasting impact you've seen from DECA.
It's pretty crazy. Like we have a couple that's married. They live in Texas. They met in DECA in this classroom.
I'm going to a DECA wedding this Saturday.
A DECA wedding, that’s awesome.
And the lasting impact, like I've said, is real because it's– there 10 years from now, 8 years from now. And like I have a kid who texts me about a week ago. I just opened a Roth IRA. I'll never forget when you made me do the personal financial literacy roleplay at state. Because what happens, I've been doing this a while. I have a kid sitting in the front row, and on the first day of class, I'm like, this kid can talk, and he's smarter than the average bear. So like, dude, you're going to, I'm going to put you in DECA. You need to trust me.
“I don't even know what DECA is like.” It doesn't matter. You just have to trust me. And so kids like that, they'll go, they'll qualify national in a roleplay. They'll meet a bunch of friends while they're there. And then five years from now, they'll send me a picture. Like we have kids who went to a Braves game together. Seven years after we were there. They said, “Hey, we were all in Atlanta for a conference. We went to a Braves game.” So cool stuff like that. Like, that's the best part. Like high school is fun and nice. But in 10 years, nobody cares that you took first in business services operations research event at DECA nationals.
It's the connections that you make by doing that and the way that you change as a person.
A hundred percent. I freaking love Herriman. I've been here for 13 years. Put my heart and soul into this place because there's no other way to do it. And this year is crazy. So before the school year even started, I sat down with these officers. “Hey, look, guys, I need you to believe me. I'm not, I'm never going to BS you, but this year has an opportunity to be special. Like, if you guys will do what I ask and you put in the work, I legitimately think you can have 200 members and 50 kids to nationals.” I knew how many members we had, and then only a couple of our officers knew exactly how many we had. It was 206. Right? So then I'm sitting at state, I'm doing the math, and then– I actually had to drive myself that day because my kid got sick. So I drove myself, and I didn’t want to fight traffic on the way home. I'm gonna do the exact math right here. And I do the exact math. I'm sitting all by myself, and I'm just like, “We just had 63 qualifications for nationals. What am I?” And all the kids are texting me, “How many did we qualify? How many did we qualify? How many did we qualify?” They're trying to do the math, and I just text back “51 kids, 63 qualifications.” And like the flood of text messages came through, but the really cool part was hours after that, I probably got 30 texts from alumni.
That were like, “You guys freaking killed it. I saw on Instagram or I texted, you know, like I texted Ana, she told me this, I texted Ava, she told me this, I texted Tyler.” And that's the coolest part, is that we saw the alumni that follow and kind of help and stuff like that.
So it's the lasting connections. That’s pretty incredible.
Yeah. It was really cool. So this group is a special group for sure. Like it's a good group to go out on, but it's one that they freaking worked so hard to get 50 kids. It was crazy. I still don't believe it.
Wow. Well, congratulations on building a program that just kept growing because every time that program grows, it just means more kids feel connected and more kids feel this sense of efficacy, this growth, the sense of themselves that they wouldn't have had without it. So Bravo. I know you don't like to talk about it, but those awards are hard won through a lot of work and caring, and dedication on your part, and well-deserved. So, thank you.
I appreciate it. And thanks for those kids for bombarding the Jazz system and embarrassing me in front of 20,000 people at a Jazz game.
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.
