A chance conversation between Sloan Ellis and a teacher her freshman year at Whitefish High School has likely impacted her career choice in a way the senior never expected.

One day during teacher Jeremy Anderson’s class, Ellis finished her assignment early and struck up a conversation with him about the stock market, which she says she finds interesting. Before long, Anderson suggested Ellis join the school’s DECA club, which prepares high school students for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management.

“DECA sparked an interest in business that has been very influential on me,” she said. “Before that I was not interested in business — I thought it meant sitting behind a desk typing on a computer all day. DECA has shown me there is a lot more to the business world.”

Ellis has decided to follow her business interest and plans to attend Washington and Lee University in Virgina this fall. She is keeping her options open and hasn’t ruled out the possibility of attending law school.

“I want to do something with my life — I just don’t want to live and die and be gone,” she said. “I want to do something whether it’s through business or being active in law-making.”

Ellis spent four years in DECA earning five state medals. Last month she returned from the International Conference in Atlanta with a top-10 medallion for her individual case study in business finance.

During competition, each student participates in a role-play competition, using speaking ability, marketing knowledge and business sense to solve problems in real-life situations in front of a judge.

Ellis fondly recalls one of the problems she had to solve at this year’s International competition in the business finance category. She had to answer the question of whether or not a landscaping business should expand its business to provide snow plowing. She was provided with financial information about the business and the cost to purchase new equipment.

“You have to look at the plan and see if it’s feasible,” she said. “I like logic problems. I like looking at facts and numbers and seeing which solution makes sense.”

Ellis has spent four years competing in tennis, speech and debate and on the drama team. She has also spent two years running cross-country, and has been a member of student council and National Honor Society.

“Cross-country and DECA have been the most impactful on my life directions,” she said. “Cross-country because it showed me that I love running and DECA because it showed me what area I want to go toward.”

Ellis is still trying to figure out what exactly her college major will be, but she does know she wants to study Mandarin.

“My dream is to be working as a company’s representative in China or work abroad,” she said. “I want to travel and work abroad.”

Before heading off to college this fall, Ellis plans to spend her summer at Camp Sweyolaken on Lake Coeur d’Alene. She has spent many summers at the camp that focuses on youth leadership and is excited to be a camp counselor there this year.