A team of students from Western Washington University’s College of Business and Economics were named national finalists and McCall Schilling, a junior from Kenmore studying marketing, was crowned national champion at the 2012 Collegiate DECA International Conference in Salt Lake City on April 24.

Schilling took first place in the nation in the Hotel and Lodging category. She was the only student from Washington to finish in the top three in the nation.

The national competition is case-study-based and challenges the students to develop a solution to a business case during a 30-minute or one-hour preparation period. The students present the case solution to a panel of executives from the community serving as judges.