From Monday, January 11th to Thursday, January 14th, 2021, 135 students from The Harker School DECA Chapter attended the 2021 Silicon Valley Career Development Conference (SVCDC). Due to the pandemic, this conference was held virtually, and students competed by submitting recordings of their events. SCDC also featured Multiply Your Leadership Workshops and a Harker DECA chapter social to maintain the in-person conference feel. Overall, Harker performed admirably, with 100 Overall Finalists and 35 Top Three winners.

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“I’ve seen our chapter members spend hours on Zoom tinkering with their presentations in the online environment, so I was so excited to see their hard work pay off at SVCDC!” said Lisa Barooah (12), Harker DECA Co-Chief Executive Officer. “Our competitive analysis showed record competitive success, which hopefully motivates a new wave of dedicated DECA members. From chapter yoga sessions to celebratory Doordashes, it was great to have a sense of normalcy and enjoy some DECA bonding.”

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On Monday, students began their virtual SVCDC experience with the Conference Kickoff, where attendees from around the Bay Area gathered in a live stream of the opening ceremony. Scott Williams, the keynote speaker this year, gave motivational advice to the young entrepreneurs in attendance with his wise words of experience. Williams said, "managers tell it but leaders sell it"  and "great leadership is less about the leader and more about the ship.”

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“I really enjoyed the speech that Scott Williams gave at SVCDC. Even though it was virtual, it was still both a wonderful and engaging experience, especially for the first time attendees,” said Anika Muddu (10), Harker DECA Director of Roleplays.

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Despite this conference being held online, the competition aspect went exceptionally smoothly. Students were given two days to record their written and roleplay events, put the files in a Google Drive folder, then turn in the link to the Google Drive folder to the DECA portal. 

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“I really liked how easy the submission process was; it made the entire conference a lot less stressful,” said Annmaria Antony (10). 

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After submitting their competitions, the Harker DECA Chapter attended a mandatory meeting where the officer team announced the Chapter Social. This meeting along with the chapter meeting at the beginning of the conference where our Director of Roleplays, Anika Muddu, went over roleplay skills, mimicked the in-person conference experience. 

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“Competing in DECA online was a really interesting experience. I learned how to adapt to unexpected challenges and make the most of limited resources, a skill that I will carry with me through high school and beyond,” said Ada Petrovic (10). 

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A week later, from January 25th to January 27th, Members were required to attend a Multiply Your Leadership event and a Judge Feedback Session. At the Multiply Your Leadership sessions, students participated in a fun trivia Kahoot and received tips about becoming a leader. At the Judge Feedback Sessions, SVCDC judges explained to the attendees what they enjoyed seeing in competitions and what members should avoid during conferences. 

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The Harker DECA Chapter Social took place on Wednesday, January 27th, and was designed for students to participate in a fun team bonding activity. Members were allowed to choose between a guided meditation session with certified yoga and meditation instructor Ben Wexler and a poster making activity with Anika Muddu (10), Harker DECA Director of Roleplays. “From kicking off the conference with a motivational message about purpose, our competitors no doubt found their purpose while competing at the State DECA Conference. I’m incredibly proud of the officer team for helping to run this conference smoothly and I am looking forward to making more conference memories and cheering on our competitors at the International DECA Conference (ICDC) next month!” said Chapter Advisor Juston Glass. “Congratulations to all of our ICDC qualifiers. Go Harker Eagles!”

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Members placing in the Top Three are as follows: 

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1st Place

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• Karan Bhasin (12), Jason Hoang (12); Integrated Marketing Campaign - Event
• Melody Luo (11), Elvis Han (11); Integrated Marketing Campaign - Service
• Spencer Mak (9), Edis Mesic (9), Ashwin Kuppahally (9); Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan
• Smrithi Sambamurthy (10), Anika Muddu (10); Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research
• Leisha Devisetti (10); Sports and Entertainment Marketing Operations Research
• Margaret Cartee (9); Principles of Business Management
• Shreeya Merchia (9); Principles of Marketing 
• Rohan Varma (12); Automotive Services Marketing Individual Series
• Vedant Kenkare (11); Marketing Communications Individual Series
• Melody Luo (11), Elvis Han (11); Marketing Management Team Decision Making 
• Sasvath Ramachandran (11); Personal Financial Literacy Event

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2nd Place 

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• Chloe Lee (9), Kaitlyn Wang (9); Integrated Marketing Campaign - Event 
• Gordon Chen (10); Financial Consulting Event 
• Zeke Weng (10), Arin Jain (10), Armaan Thakker (10); Independent Business Plan
• Andrea Thia (11); Business Growth Plan
• Vienna Parnell (11), Alivia Li (11); Franchise Business Plan
• Trisha Variyar (10); Business Operations Research
• Vardaan Ghai (9), Reza Jalil (9); Finance Operations Research
• Anvitha Tummala (12), Elaine Zhai (12), Fonda Hu (12); Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research
• Aditya Singhvi (12); Business Finance Individual Series
• Gigi Chan (11); Food Marketing Individual Series 
• Vinay Sudarsanam (11); Retail Merchandising Individual Series
• Elaine Zhai (12), Fonda Hu (12); Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making 
• BB Ajlouny (10), Johnathan Mo (10); Hospitality Services Team Decision Making 
• Anvitha Tummala (12), Lisa Barooah (12); Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making 

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3rd Place

• Sujith Pakala (11); Professional Selling Event 
• Sasvath Ramachandran (11); Financial Consulting Event 
• Annmaria Antony (10), Grace Hoang (10); Independent Business Plan 
• Mina Okamoto (9); Principles of Business Management
• Reshma Kosaraju (9); Principles of Finance
• Vienna Parnell (11); Hotel and Lodging Management Individual Series 
• Sujith Pakala (12); Quick Serve Restaurant Management Individual Series 
• Saavi Kumar (10), Ananya Bammi (10); Financial Services Team Decision Making 
• Abhi Namala (10); Rohan Kondapalli (10); Sport and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making 

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