San Jose, California– On Friday, December 5th, 2025, Harker DECA partnered with BASIS Independent Silicon Valley DECA to host a MiniCon to give first-year members the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of a real conference. It included workshops hosted by the California state officer team, testing, roleplays, and an Award Ceremony to conclude the event.   

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Following the Opening Ceremony introducing Harker DECA and BISV DECA, Harker DECA members took the Business Administration Core (BAC) test. BASIS students took their tests from their campus, so they arrived later for the second Opening Ceremony. Once testing was completed, flight groups, staggered groups assigned specific roleplay times, were then sorted into their timeslots. Participants who were not in a roleplay attended workshops hosted by Harker DECA officers and DECA’s California State Officers.

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“MiniCon took us all to the next level. Whether that was networking with new people, or learning and implementing the concepts gained from workshops, the experience was great for attendees” said Alrisha Chen (10) Director of Community Engagement at Harker DECA. 

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Harker DECA’s Finance Team, Bazigh Tahirzad (11) and David Kelly (11), hosted “How to Ace the DECA Roleplay,” talking about the different ways to stand out while competing in a roleplay. The session also featured a panel of State and school officers who answered student questions. Next, the California DECA State Officers hosted their workshop, titled “Eye-See DC Glass Winning,” which presented tips on how to utilize engaging visuals leading to competitive success. 

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‍After all of the roleplay flights finished, students ate dinner and had the chance to socialize with each other. Meanwhile, the Harker DECA Competitions team calculated all of the participants' scores. 

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Afterwards, the Award Ceremony began, and students and parents gathered in the auditorium to hear the final placements of the competition. Tanvi Sivakumar (12) along with Amishi Gupta (12), Harker DECA’s Chief Executive Officers, gave their closing remarks, and then introduced Nathaniel Idicula (11), VP of Operations at Harker DECA, to announce the final placements. 

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“I think that this MiniCon was a great opportunity to practice for the upcoming conferences in 2026, and it was so fun to see that the students enjoyed it!” said Abby Wang (11), Director of Testing. 

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MiniCon came to a close with the Closing Ceremony that highlighted the day's accomplishments!

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Winners are as follows: 

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Series: 

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1st Place: Mohan Sharma (BASIS Independent School)

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2nd Place: Aiden Chan (BASIS Independent School)

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3rd Place:  Alex Yang (BASIS Independent School)

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PEN

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‍1st Place: Reyansh Gupta (The Harker School)

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2nd Place: Shivaani Kumara Venkatesh (The Harker School)

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3rd Place: Oscar Gu (BASIS Independent School)

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PHT

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1st Place: Deniz Ertem (The Harker School)

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2nd Place: Yehong Fan (The Harker School)

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3rd Place: Vibha Gunna (BASIS Independent School)

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PMK: 

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1st Place: Rebecca Ding (The Harker School)

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2nd Place: Arya Khajuria (BASIS Independent School)

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3rd Place: Rhea Sharma (The Harker School)

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PBM: 

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1st Place: Aariv Bathija (BASIS Independent School)

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2nd Place: Ethan Hao (The Harker School)

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3rd Place: Hailey Li (The Harker School)

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PFN

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1st Place: Max Peng (BASIS Independent School)

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2nd Place: Ziyang Wang (The Harker School)

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3rd Place: Iris Wang (The Harker School)

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About The Harker School DECA 

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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

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To learn more about this story, please contact:

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Sofe Jalil, Director of Communications

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28sofej@students.harker.org

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deca.harker.org

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