![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
DECA members prepare for SCDC
Haley Tran (9) and Raymond Xu (9) are discussing their team written event together. DECA will attend the State Career Development Conference beginning on Feb. 5.
Upper School students going to the next DECA conference, State Career Development Conference (SCDC), have started preparing during the study sessions that are offered.
After the club’s thirteen first through third place wins and several other finalists at the Silicon Valley Career Development Conference (SVCDC), Harker Business Club (HBC) hopes to succeed even further by requiring members to attend at least six hours worth of study sessions. The sessions have been offered on most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays since SVCDC ended.
“After SV, we realized that we had a lot more potential than we had been putting into the students,” HBC President Monica Thukral (12) says. “All the Harker students are incredibly talented. They have the ability speak, to communicate, and to market and everything that is necessary to place in their events in state.”
They include practicing roleplay and written events in front of officers and parent volunteer judges to receive advice and feedback for their respective events. Written events are also taken with a roleplay event. To help prepare better for the written tests, the officers have added a new element to their study sessions in which the Director of Events, Adarsh Battu (12) has started to hold sessions in groups to help members achieve higher scores on their written exams.
“When we are in a group there is a little bit more collaborative nature and also a little of pressure for them, and I think that helps students because they are under a little stress for the test,” he said.
It is not required to have been at any of the previous conferences to attend states, but states determines if the student has qualified to compete to the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Atlanta, Georgia on May 3 to 6.
Members participating in this conference will be missing two days of school, but will have downtime to finish their work. Students will continue to practice, present, and study for their SCDC events until they leave from Feb. 5 through Feb. 9.
Riya Chandra is a reporter of Harker Aquila. She is a freshmen and has a passion for photography, as well as writing. She is also part of the DECA Club...