The Harker School, San Jose – From Friday, July 31st, 2026 to Saturday, August 1st, 2026, high school students from across the Bay Area gathered at The Harker School for the first ever Silicon Valley Summer Conference (SVSC). Designed to kickstart the upcoming DECA season, the two-day event offered skill-building workshops, mock competitions, and networking opportunities.

“It's wonderful to see so many like-minded individuals gather for this conference. I look forward to seeing them gain new insights and build connections,” said Kai Nishimura, Chief Executive Officer of Harker DECA.

The conference opened on Friday afternoon as attendees checked in on campus and filed into the auditorium. Abby Sachse and Kai Nishimura, Harker DECA’s 2026-2027 Chief Executive Officers, opened the conference with an energetic introductory session that unveiled this year's official DECA theme: “Next Big Thing.” Participating chapters from around the Bay Area introduced their teams before a recap of the most recent International Career Development Conference (ICDC) brought the opening ceremony to a close.

To foster collaboration across chapters, students were divided into teams to prepare for the written events. These newly formed groups immediately jumped into a campus-wide scavenger hunt. Officers stationed at checkpoints around Harker challenged teams to solve riddles and complete tasks, ranging from choreographing group dances to pouring water on an officer, before earning their next clue.

After breaking the ice with their teams, students returned to the auditorium to hear from keynote speaker Savi Joshi (Class of 2015), affectionately known by many as “Mama DECA.” The Wharton School graduate reflected on her DECA journey and shared how the organization laid the foundation for her career across Finance, Software, and AI.

Following Ms. Joshi’s insightful speech, the attendees enjoyed dinner and mingled with their peers.

The students then transitioned into an Introduction to Testing workshop led by Rebecca Ding focused on exam strategies for the upcoming competition. Harker DECA mentors and officers, Saahithi Koneru, Nicole Dean, and Neva Praun-Petrovic, joined by Foothill DECA Officers, then led Prepared Events, walking students through the requirements for key written event categories, including PSE, ENT, OR, and IMC.

After a day of learning, the first day officially concluded with a brief preview of Saturday’s agenda.

Saturday morning kicked off at 8:30 A.M. with breakfast outside Nichols Auditorium. Once settled inside, Abby Sachse introduced the day’s agenda and outlined the rules for the morning exam. Students got seated in the Atrium to complete their testing event. 

Following the exam, attendees assembled for an Introduction to Roleplays workshop led by Harker DECA officers, Neva Praun-Petrovic, Rebecca Ding, and Abby Wang, before breaking for lunch.

Reenergized from the break, teams received instructions for the Team Decision Making event and headed directly into mock competition rounds in front of guest judges.

The afternoon continued with dedicated work time for students to refine their prepared presentations. Shortly after, California DECA presented their Elevate Your Leadership workshop, followed by an interactive session on pitching and public speaking hosted by Amador Valley DECA officers. While judges tallied the final scores over dinner, attendees spent the evening mingling.

“Our experience at SVSC encouraged us to think outside the box and step outside of our comfort zones,”noted  Arya Patel, a student attendee.

Finally, attendees gathered back in the auditorium for the closing awards ceremony, officially concluding Harker DECA’s inaugural summer conference.

Conference Results

Testing Finalists

Arihana Shah, Ariana Siamwalla, Aadya Saksena, Leo Liu, Lily Han, Leticia Cheng

Team Decision Making Roleplay Finalists

Isabella Du and Lily Han, Aria Patel and Advay Narayanun, Heidi Singh and Leticia Cheng, Leo Liu and Kai Nishimura, Rishav Mehta and Ishan Sharma

Team Decision Making Roleplay Top Three

1st Place: Isabella Du and Lily Han

2nd Place: Leo Liu and Kai Nishimura

3rd Place: Aria Patel and Advay Narayanun

‍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, applied learning, business connections, and competition to cultivate academically prepared, community-oriented, and professionally responsible leaders.

‍Contact Information

To learn more about this story, please contact:

Gauri Badgujar, Director of Communications

29GauriB@students.harker.org