San Jose, California— Harker DECA celebrated the annual DECA month during November, hosting promotional campaigns and outreach events, attending Power Trip, and participating in DECA’s social media challenge. For the duration of November, Harker DECA’s Instagram (@harkerdeca) uploaded daily posts responding to DECA-related prompts, such as sustainability. Outside of social media, school outreach activities included a Movie Night, Ice Cream Social, Clothing Drive, Hustle for Muscle, Dine with DECA, Alumni Takeover, and Sending Sunshine Care Packages. 

“DECA Month is my favorite month ever. I love DECA Month” said Eden Kelly, Vice President of Public Relations. “I live every year and I look forward to DECA Month. It’s so important for our chapter to engage with each other, while also giving back to the community.”

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OUTREACH ACTIVITIES: 

During the chapter campaign, Harker DECA hosted seven outreach activities— Movie Night, Ice Cream Social, Clothing Drive, Hustle for Muscle, Dine with DECA, Alumni Takeover, and Sending Sunshine Care Packages.

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Ice Cream Social: 

‍On Friday, November 7th, Harker DECA hosted an ice cream social before the weekly study session to kick off the start of DECA month. Members gathered to connect with one another and share their excitement for the upcoming Power Trip conference. The event drew strong attendance, with lines forming well before the event began! Many students captured photos to share on Harker DECA’s social media platforms. 

Hustle 4 Muscle: 

‍On Wednesday, November 12th, and Friday, November 14th, Harker DECA hosted its annual Hustle 4 Muscle, inviting all grades to compete in a charity volleyball tournament that raises awareness for the Muscle Dystrophy Association (MDA). The event started off with a presentation regarding MDA and then an intro to the rules of volleyball. Participants enjoyed the competition, and the winning team was awarded with boba. 

Dine with DECA:

On Thursday, November 6th, Harker DECA hosted the annual Dine with DECA event where industry professionals were invited to have lunch with DECA members along with students interested in entrepreneurship. Students were given the opportunity to learn different things from each of them, leaving the event with multiple perspectives of industry professionals. Throughout the event, students rotated among the mentors, gaining multiple perspectives, hearing personal stories, and learning valuable lessons from each industry expert. Each student left with a deeper appreciation for the variety of career paths and the guidance that will support them beyond high school. 

The mentors were as follows: Amit Singla (Director of Engineering @ Amazon), Anandhi Rangarajan (Product Manager @ Startup), Gavin Ho (Chief Strategy Officer, SSBC @ TDK), Phu Hoang (EVP of Engineering @ Yahoo), Rehan Jalil (President and CEO @ Securiti AI)

Movie Night:

On Friday, October 24th, Harker DECA hosted a movie night presenting the movie Hotel Transylvania (2004). 

“My favorite DECA activity is movie night because we can take time to relax and have fun in a business environment after a study session!” said Alrisha Chen, Director of Community Engagement. 

SOCIAL MEDIA:
Throughout the course of November, Harker DECA shared success stories from alumni, participated in DECA’s social media challenge, and gave students the opportunity to share their opinions on ethical behavior. 

Social Media Challenge: 

In response to DECA Inc.’s daily prompts, the Public Relation team at Harker DECA created visuals for posting on @harkerdeca each day of November. By taking part in this challenge, the chapter was able to build a feeling of community with students and DECA chapters around the country in addition to offering insight into what DECA is like at Harker.

Alumni Takeovers: 

Throughout the month of November, Harker DECA chose six Harker alumni to take over the chapter’s Instagram account for a day, engaging followers through Q&A sessions and sharing glimpses of their daily lives. Many of the alumni emphasized the importance of applying ethics in both high school and beyond, offering meaningful advice to current high school students. They shared examples from their own lives of how ethical decision making has positively influenced their college experience and careers. 

The alumni were as follows: Gianna Chan (22), Maya Affaki (25), Lauren Lin (25), Sanaa Bhorkar (25), Emily Mitnick (25), Vedant Balachandran (25)

‍”DECA Month is, I would say, a really special time of the year. Because we get so many of the new freshmen, it's really great to engage with them and help them get to know our chapter. I feel like it really helps us both introduce them to the new community, and give back to the rest of the community as well.” said Colin Li, Director of Technology.

About The Harker School DECA 

Harker DECA is an International Competitive Business Organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in four fields of business: marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. Our DECA chapter integrates classroom instruction, applies learning, connects to business, and promotes competition in order to prepare the next generation to be academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible, and experienced leaders.

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Contact Information

To learn more about this story, please contact:

Sofe Jalil, Director of Communications

28sofej@students.harker.org

deca.harker.org

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