![“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 member wins big at ICDC
Alisa Su
Enya Lu (9) steps forward to receive her medal after being called forward as an overall finalist in Principles of Finance. Later that evening, Enya earned first place, making Harker DECA history.
May 5, 2016
Twenty students and two advisors from the upper school’s DECA chapter traveled to the 2016 International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Nashville, Tennessee, from April 22 to 27.
For the first time in chapter history, a member placed in a roleplay event. Freshman Enya Lu received first place in her competition, Principles of Finance.
“I was really surprised,” Enya said. “We all sat up on the third floor because we didn’t really think we’d make it [to the top 10,] and then they said my name, and we went running down to the first floor. It was really nerve-wracking, but in the end I was very happy, and it was very surprising.”
Enya also received first place at every competition she competed in, becoming the first person in California DECA to win in both written and roleplay events. In preparation for the competition, she completed past years’ tests and roleplays and studied her key performance indicators, which helped her in creating quality content during her actual presentation.
“I’m really proud of Enya since she’s someone who definitely has put in all the effort and definitely deserves to win,” said Riya Chandra (11), DECA Vice President of Operations. “She’s never really missed a study session or deadline with presenting to officers and is always motivated to do well. I think because of this, all of her effort paid off, and she’s the perfect model to show that hard work proves success in DECA. I can’t wait to see what she’ll do in the next three years.”
Enya hopes to be a part of DECA throughout her high school career and looks forward to future years. Next year, Enya will be a part of the DECA Officer Team as the Director of Roleplay Events.
Aside from Enya, the team of sophomores Dolan Dworak, Brandon Mo and Michael Sikand placed in the top 20 of the Independent Business Plan event.
The annual ICDC brings together nearly 18,000 high school DECA members from all over the world and acts as the last competitive conference of the DECA season. To qualify, students must place in the top four of their events at the States conference.
“It’s the pinnacle event for DECA,” said Juston Glass, DECA advisor and director of business and entrepreneurship. “The best of the best come to the event from all over the country, and you get to have a great cultural experience going to a different part of the nation and also interacting with students from all over every state, especially from all over the world. There’s just a lot of energy around becoming an emerging leader and entrepreneur.”
This year, the upper school DECA chapter sent 14 students to compete in addition to six students that attended the Emerging Leaders Series. These attendees could expanded their involvement with DECA and improve their leadership skills through daily workshops and sessions.
Aside from competitions, students enjoyed the opportunities to meet students from all over the world and explore Nashville.
DECA anticipates to host next year’s ICDC in Anaheim, California, and 2018’s in Atlanta.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on May 4, 2016.
