![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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 attend ICDC
DOWN TO BUSINESS: Nihal Uppugunduri (12) and Alex Tuharsky (11) won first place in the Stock Market Game this year. They accepted their prize recently in Atlanta at DECA’s international conference.
Twenty-four Upper School students traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to compete at DECA’s International Career Development Conference (ICDC) from May 3 to 6.
Over 17,000 students from around the world came together to compete in various leadership and business related competitions. In addition to competing students had the opportunity to attend the DECA dance, take part in a 5K walk/run, and spend a day at Six Flags.
Of the twenty-four students that competed, six were named finalists at the conference. Senior Nihal Uppugunduri and junior Alexander Tuharsky took first place in the Stock Market Game. In addition, Manthra Panchapakesan (11) placed third in the InvestWrite Essay while David Zhu and Peter Wu placed fifth in the Virtual Business Challenge-Restaurant. Two students also placed in the Top 20 for written exams, Raymond Xu (9) in Principles of Finance and Julia Fink (12) in Role play. Julia was also an Overall Finalist in Apparel Accessories Marketing.
Juston Glass, the Director of Business and Entrepreneurial Programs at Harker, reflects positively on the growth of his students through DECA.
“ICDC was an amazing opportunity for students to demonstrate the hard work they have put into their various business plans, research projects, role playing expertise, and presentations,” Glass said. “Everyone was able to network with students from all over the world, compete, and also give back to the community.”
The business program has seen tremendous growth this year. In addition to participating in DECA and Harker Business Club events, students had the opportunity to partake in the Stock Market Game and enroll in the “Principles of Business and Entrepreneurship” class offered for the first time in Upper School history. The class follows a mini-MBA program style and focuses on marketing, accounting and finance, entrepreneurship, and strategy and management.
ICDC concluded DECA events for the year.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on May 16, 2014.
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