Skip to Main Content
The student news site of Westford Academy

WA Ghostwriter

The student news site of Westford Academy

WA Ghostwriter

The student news site of Westford Academy

WA Ghostwriter

DECA poster hangs on the door of room 250.

DECA preliminary tests move to UMass Lowell to prevent cheating

Imaan Choudhry, Co-News Editor Dec 10, 2025

Westford Academy’s Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) will be moving their preliminary testing for business knowledge from WA to University of Massachusetts (UMass) Lowell during the 2025-2026 school year. The change stems from the national organization's goal of eliminating cheating during...

Chatiwala and Navuduri pose for a photo in the WA library.

DECA introduces mentors for newer members

Penelope Zambrana, Co-Opinions and Reviews Editor Nov 26, 2025

One of Westford Academy's largest clubs, Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA), is providing senior members with mentor positions this school year to assist in an easier transition from the class into the club for freshman members. DECA is a national organization that aims to prepare students...

Back Row (left to right): Krish Babu (Treasurer), Srisai Vuppuluri, Aditya Sengupta (VP), Iesha Patel, Pramodh Pappu, Nicholas Scarano, Sahil Dua, Rish Rajput, Griffin Lewis, Saket Rao

DECA excited for the upcoming competition season

Aditya Bhardwaj, Staff Writer Jan 16, 2024

The members of Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) are up and ready for competitions. This year, DECA will be going to Anaheim, California on April 27-30, 2024 for their International Career Development Conference (ICDC).  DECA is a club that teaches and prepares students to be business...

Rohita and Dedeep place 2nd in their events at ICDC. .

3 seniors win DECA glass at Nationals

Mengmeng Zhang, Staff Writer May 17, 2023

At the 2023 DECA Nationals, 48 WA students attended the DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) and competed in 40 different events in Orlando, Florida. With more than 22,000 attendees from across the world, and around 187 to 237 competitors in each event, it is a difficult feat to receive...

DECA Members wait patiently to present their pitch.

Four freshmen advance to DECA Internationals

Victoria Farley, Staff Writer Mar 17, 2023

After a strong performance at the DECA State Competition on March 9-11 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, freshmen Eesha Gowda, Haasini Sriraman, Sandeep Sivakumar, and Krish Parmar all advanced to Internationals which will take place on April 22-25 in Orlando, Florida. The four freshmen competed...

DECA members pose after winning an award at a competition last year. DECA is just one of the many clubs students can join at WA.

Landon Chwalek wins DECA glass for the first time in five years

Shreya Voruganti, Co-News Editor Jun 2, 2022

The first moment where an award is won, a person would expect the recipient to be crying, smiling, laughing, showing joy on their face. However, this specific moment is different. When junior Landon Chwalek first heard his name announced for his award, he was in utter shock. He couldn't believe at first...

A portion of the flyer for the Comic Hypnotist show on Friday, April 8

Comic hypnotist Frank Santos Jr. ready to make WA ‘laugh out loud’

Elitsa Koleva, Staff Writer Apr 6, 2022

Students and their families will get to watch Comic Hypnotist Frank Santos Jr. perform hypnosis at WA this Friday at 7:00 pm. Tickets bought in advance during lunch cost 10 dollars each and 15 dollars upon entrance. All the proceeds will go directly to the DECA club, the organizers of the event. According...

Winning DECA members pose with their trophies and plaques.

COVID-19 affects club competition

Rohun Voruganti, Co-Sports Editor Feb 13, 2022

The effects of COVID-19 at Westford Academy are still lingering in the community and still continue to affect the way extracurriculars compete. DECA and Mock Trial Club are two clubs that were impacted this year because of COVID-related mandates. DECA has changed tremendously since the peak of...

Massachusetts DECA emblem

WA prevails at State DECA tournament

Unnati Bhat, Staff Writer Mar 8, 2020

Westford Academy competed at Massachusetts DECA's 61st State Convention from Thursday, February 29th to Saturday, February 29th. For over ten years, WA DECA has had significant successes at both district, state and international level conventions. WA has the biggest DECA chapter in MA with over 400...

DECA president Shelly Singhal standing next to the DECA board.

23 Questions with DECA president Shelly Singhal | WA Ghostwriter

Divya Sambathkumar, Print Managing Editor Jan 11, 2020

This is one of many in the Ghostwriter’s new series of 23 questions. This series will highlight the significance of our faculty and students, and the little things about them that many don’t know. This week, the Ghostwriter had the chance to meet with DECA president and senior Shelly Singhal who...