Santa Clara, California – From Friday, January 6th, 2023, to Sunday, January 8th, 2023, over 120 Harker DECA members attended the regional Silicon Valley Career Development Conference (SVCDC), at the Santa Clara Marriott. SVCDC officially kicked off this year’s competitive season and consisted of testing, roleplay and written presentations, as well as speeches from the state officer team and electing this year’s California DECA Vice President of Silicon Valley. 

“This SVCDC was a really memorable experience,” said Chief Executive Officer, Anika Muddu (12). “It was our first completely back-to-normal regional conference after Covid, so the energy was amazing, and I could really tell that everyone gave it their all. It was an amazing experience for our first-year members, and I’m incredibly proud of the chapter’s competitive success!”

On Friday, the chapter arrived at the hotel around 1:30 pm, where they got settled and studied for their exams occurring later that afternoon. The chapter also enjoyed Jamba Juice, a Harker tradition at SVCDC.

After that, students made their way to testing, where they took exams in Hospitality and Tourism, Business Administration, Finance, Marketing, Professional Selling, and more. 

Following that was the opening ceremony, where California DECA’s VP of Silicon Valley, Vineeta Muvvala, and VP of Leadership, Nitin Jaladanki, introduced the conference, went through the schedule for the weekend, and introduced this year’s theme, “Get the Edge.” They also led the pledge of allegiance, as well as honor the late Pam Mckenny, who was a crucial part of California DECA.

After that, attendees listened to speeches from the candidates for this year’s VP of Silicon Valley, including Harker DECA’s Director of Written Events, Emily Mitnick (10). The opening session closed with a DECA-themed bingo game among all attendees.

“The Silicon Valley conference was a great experience for me as a candidate because I got to meet and talk to hundreds of students in the span of three days. I had never given a speech to over 100 people before, so presenting my speech to over 800 students and teachers was an important milestone. The two other candidates were both so friendly, and I couldn’t have been happier to spend my time getting to know them and becoming friends with them. I’m incredibly grateful for all of the support Harker DECA has shown me, especially Mr. Glass. I’m excited to see where this DECA journey takes me!” said Emily Mitnick, newly elected VP of Silicon Valley.

The next day was dedicated to competition. All competitors participated in their roleplay and written presentations. Harker DECA competed in a wide variety of events, including individual series and team decision making roleplays, as well as Entrepreneurship, Professional Selling, Integrated Marketing, Operations Research plans, and more. 

“SVCDC definitely aided in building my confidence when competing. From the time I spent practicing, presenting, and competing there, I built upon my speaking skills and expanded my overall knowledge of business management. Having a competition locally made me more comfortable in the environment,” said attendee Minal Jalil (9). 

Later that night, participants had a chance to wind down after competitions by going to California DECA’s game room, where they networked with other chapters and played various board and card games. 

Finally, the last day of SVCDC consisted of awards ceremonies. Students made their way to the grand ballroom on Sunday morning for the Mini Awards Ceremony, where many Harker DECA chapter members were recognized for their test and presentation scores. 

“The conference itself was a great experience and I really enjoyed learning, presenting my ideas, and spending time with friends. Placing 1st in my event was one of the best feelings because it felt like all the work I had put into my project had finally paid off.” said first place winner in Hospitality and Tourism Professional Selling, Sahil Varma (10).

After a short breakfast, the Grand Awards Ceremony started. Harker was extremely successful, with countless finalists, and 35 teams placing in the top 3 for their events The chapter was very enthusiastic, with loud cheers from chaperones and peers everytime a Harker student was called to stage.  

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Top 3 award winners are as follows:

1st Place:

• Joy Hu (9); Integrated Marketing Campaign - Event
• Sahil Varma (10); Hospitality and Tourism Professional Selling
• Claire Luo (11); Professional Selling 
• Claire Luo (11); Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series
• Sathvik Chundru (11); Innovation Plan
• Annmaria Antony (12), Grace Hoang (12); Independent Business Plan
• Ashley Hong (11), Metrica Shi (11); Franchise Business Plan
• Tanisha Singh (11); Business Service Operations Research 
• Valerie Li (10); Buying and Merchandising Operations Research
• Alicia Ran (10), Tiana Salvi (10); Finance Operations Research
• Meishin Yen (11), Medha Yarlagadda (11); Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research
• Saahira Dayal (10); Automotive Services Marketing Series
• Sanaa Bhorkar (10); Business Services Marketing Series
• Meishin Yen (11); Hotel and Lodging Management Series
• Andrew Au (11), Edward Huang (11); Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making
• Ariana Gauba (10), Shaila Tandon (10); Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making

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2nd Place: 

• Shiven Balaji (10); Integrated Marketing Campaign - Product
• Caleb Tang (10), Jonathan Wang (10), Bowen Xia (10); Franchise Business Plan
• Krish Arora (9); Principles of Finance
• Maya Affaki (10); Hotel and Lodging Management Series
• Chloe Lee (11); Marketing Communications Series
• Caleb Tang (10); Quick Serve Restaurant Management Series
• Roshan Amurthur (9), Angelina Antony (9); Marketing Management Team Decision Making

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3rd Place: 

• Saahira Dayal (10); Financial Consulting
• Allison Huang (9), Ruhi Banerjee (9); Buying and Merchandising Operations Research
• Gary Jin (10), Jason Yi (10); Sports and Entertainment Marketing Operations Research 
• Joy Hu (9); Principles of Business Management and Administration
• Aashvi Ravi (9); Principles of Hospitality and Tourism
• Sophia Ou (9); Principles of Marketing
• Alicia Ran (10); Apparel and Accessories Marketing Series 
• Vedant Balachandran (10); Food Marketing Series
• Keren Eisenberg (10); Marketing Communications Series
• Medha Yarlagadda (10); Restaurant and Food Service Management Series
• Grace Hoang (12), Annmaria Antony (12); Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making
• Gary Jin (10), Jason Yi (10); Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making 

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“I am so proud of each and every student that competed in this conference,” said chapter advisor Mr. Glass. “It was obvious that all competitors worked extremely hard on their presentations, and there is no doubt that we got the edge at this conference! From winning glass to Emily being elected VP of Silicon Valley, this conference is definitely a memorable one. I can’t wait to see the great things Harker will do at SCDC!” 

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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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