![“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)
Harker DECA competes at SVCDC
Courtesy of Harker DECA
Courtesy of Alisa Su
Chris Hailey (11) receives an award during the awards ceremony at the conference. Harker DECA will host a study session in preparation for the state conference this Friday at the Innovation Center.
January 13, 2016
Ninety-two upper school students attended the Silicon Valley Career Development Conference (SVCDC) to compete with fellow Bay Area DECA chapters from Jan. 8-10 at the San Jose Marriott.
Upwards of 1,400 students from 26 Silicon Valley high schools came together to bring their business, leadership and finance skills to competition. In addition to competing, students enjoyed a dance, socialized and took advantage of networking opportunities.
Students left campus at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon. After checking in, participants took written examinations and attended the opening ceremony. On Saturday, students competed in roleplay and written events, followed by elections for the Silicon Valley District Action Team (SVDAT). Three Harker students, Alisa Su (10), Haley Tran (11), and Erin Liu (9), were elected for Vice President of Public Relations, Executive Vice President, and Vice President of Fashion. The final day was comprised of the awards ceremony and a breakfast.
This year, Harker received a record number of awards. Out of the 92 students that attended, 10 individuals and teams came in first, while dozens of students were recognized as finalists in their respective events.
First place winners included Chris Hailey (11), Enya Lu (9), Michael Sikand (10), Dolan Dworak (10), Rahul Mehta (10), Vanessa Tyagi (10), Sophia Luo (12), Shannon Hong (12), Arnav Tandon (11), Alexis Gauba (11), Ria Gandhi (11) and Raymond Xu (11).
Overall, Harker’s DECA Chapter had the highest percentage of finalists and first place wins per capita compared to other schools. Although Monte Vista High School achieved 13 first place wins, they brought over 120 students to the conference.
Junior Alexis Gauba, VP of Competitions and first-place winner in Business Services Marketing, commented on the benefits of SVCDC.
“I think SVCDC was a really good opportunity for DECA members since for a lot of them it was their first competitive experience and it’s a little bit of a less stressful environment than at states,” she said. “it’s just a lot of fun because it’s within the area, the whole chapter gets to really bond together in a competitive basis, and we ended up doing really well this year.”
SVCDC also gave freshmen an opportunity to experience their first competitive business conference. Kelsey Wu (9), finalist in the Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan competition, reflected on her positive first taste of DECA.
“It was really fun and we got a lot of chances to just know people,” she said. “It was really great.”
Juston Glass, director of business and entrepreneurial programs at Harker, commented on what Harker DECA learned from the conference, as well as the group’s performance at the conference.
“We are excited for what happened at the SV conference, our best results ever, we had the most wins we have ever had,” he said. “Most of all, the students came out of the conference, motivated, as future business professionals and entrepreneurs.”
The DECA chapter is now preparing for their next competition, the California State Career Development Conference (SCDC) in San Diego from March 2-6. This first prep session for States will be on Friday, in the Innovation Center.
