BENTONVILLE — Griffin Sorenson, a recent graduate from the University of Arizona who now works for Wal-Mart’s corporate office, remembers what it was like to be in high school.
He was a shy teenager who lacked confidence. He wasn’t athletic or the smartest in his class at a Denver area high school, but through his involvement with DECA, he discovered a knack for leadership, and interests in business and community service.
When Sorenson, 23, moved to Fayetteville after his college graduation in May to work as a planning analyst for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., he wanted to help high school students as he’d been helped, he said.
He’s involved with a Northwest Arkansas group of University of Arizona alumni who mostly work in retail and business. Those alumni shared his interest in supporting area high school DECA clubs. DECA was formerly known as Distributive Education Clubs of America and also known, on the college level, as Delta Epsilon Chi. Its clubs are part of an international organization for high school and college students interested in marketing, management and entrepreneurship.
At the beginning of the school year, Sorenson reached out to DECA teachers across the region and received a response from Margot Cowing, a teacher who is the adviser for the Bentonville High School chapter of DECA. Every month, Sorenson has taken business professionals in their 20s to monthly meetings with Cowing’s students. The monthly sessions have touched on things like taking constructive criticism, giving back to the community and leadership.
During his meeting Tuesday with about 20 Bentonville students, Sorenson told them he thinks of a quote from John Quincy Adams when he thinks about leadership: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
“You start doing actions to inspire people to do things they never thought were possible,” Sorenson told them.
Students also got the perspective of Shelley Huff, a 2005 graduate from the University of Arizona who is a senior category director over men’s apparel for Wal-Mart.
Huff told them she thinks leadership is about how people manage themselves and that showing leadership requires self-control. Leaders act with integrity and consistency, she said.
“You’re currently developing a code of how you’re willing to behave in this world,” Huff said. “Your team counts on you to do the right thing.”
She tries to set personal feelings aside at her job because she is not what’s most important, her team is, she said.
“My team can’t know whether I’m having a good day or a bad day,” she said.
Connor Leech, a high school senior who plans to attend the University of Oregon, told Huff and Sorenson that he looks up to Elon Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla Motors, who inspired Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Tony Stark in the Iron Man movies.
Leech has learned that leadership requires confidence and communication skills that put others at ease, which he has used in DECA competitions, he said. He is among more than 40 students planning to participate in a national competition in Atlanta.
The competitions include activities that demonstrate business-related skills, such as sales pitches.
“I love that we’re bringing in young people who have recently started their careers at Wal-Mart,” Leech said.
Having people six, seven or eight years older — rather than 20 years older — speak about their experiences helps students know they can attain similar goals, Leech said.
High school student Anthony Monjure, president of the DECA club, is interested in retail sales and merchandising, he said. The meetings have given him some ideas, especially regarding internships in college, he said.
He appreciates the interest people like Sorenson and Huff have taken in the DECA students.
“What I want to see is everybody accomplish more,” Monjure said.
The University of Arizona alumni give students connections to adults besides their teachers who have experience competing in DECA and who have studied business, Cowing said.
“It provides them a real-life experience,” Cowing said. “The kids really engage.”
This year, the Bentonville DECA chapter opened a new clothing store inside Bentonville High School. Sorenson encouraged students to apply for certification from the organization.
He provided examples and guidance for the students to pursue and obtain the top “gold-level” certification. The certification process required students to complete a manual of nearly 90 pages that covers every facet of store operations.
Few schools in Arkansas have attained that level of certification, Sorenson said.
Sorenson hopes to work with other DECA clubs and is interested in developing regional competitions to help prepare students for state and national contests, he said. He also hopes to interest others in getting involved.
“This is how I spend my lunch once a month,” he said. “To me, it’s worth giving up lunch to come help other people.”