Ankita Uppugunduri (12) entered high school as a reserved freshman, uncertain of what path she would pursue. But when she met the DECA officers—student leaders who exuded confidence and supported their community—she knew what she wanted to do.

“I wanted to be like them,” Ankita said. “I wanted to be as confident as they were, to help freshmen out. I didn’t want to be that shy person who sits in her little corner, and I wanted to work hard not to be. I wanted to make an impact on society.”

Now, as the Director of Membership for Harker DECA, Ankita has taken on the role of the officers she looked up to as a freshman. She works to encourage students to join and mentors new members, playing an integral role in the student organization.

“Looking back at who I was back then, how much I’ve grown, how much more confident I’ve become, how much better I can speak in public with someone and carry a conversation—I think DECA has really helped me do that,” Ankita said. “Putting me in difficult situations has really helped me become better at public speaking, and overall more confident.”

While Ankita developed into the DECA officer she is today over the past few years, she also was an avid listener to the Harker Podcast Series, a broadcasted sequence of student-arranged interviews with acclaimed entrepreneurs and magnates in the world of business.

Just as the DECA officers inspired her as a freshman, the influential men and women featured in the Podcast Series kindled Ankita’s passion for business. Now, as a senior, Ankita has become the primary host of the Series.

“Seeing how willing these people are to give back to the community and how successful they are inspired me to want to interview them,” Ankita said. “A lot of the people who came in said something like, ‘I’m at this place now, but you don’t realize all the stuff I’ve tried and failed in, and I’ve used that all as a positive experience.’ That was something that stood out to me, and it helped me move forward.”

Ankita believes that failures should be viewed optimistically as steps to success.

“One of the major pieces of advice that I’ve received—which I guess most people here tend to bypass—is that it’s okay to mess up and fail, and if you use failure as a positive thing, it can help you more than success,” Ankita said. “I didn’t come into high school knowing exactly what I wanted to do, but I tried a lot of different things, and I guess that made me a stronger person, and a lot more confident in myself.”

While her roles in the business community take up a significant portion of her schedule, Ankita also leaves time to spend with her loved ones.

“My friends inspire me because they’re great people all around, and by learning from them, from seeing my friends grow, it helps me and makes me want to grow,” Ankita said. “I’m very close to my family, they’re probably the people I’m closest to in the world, and having them as a support system is very important to me. My family and friends—I’ve been with them through everything.”

Ankita is motivated by many of the people she comes across from the former DECA officers to the entrepreneurs and the family and friends she surrounds herself.

Ankita believes that all these people—the ones who provide her with inspiration—are the factors that led her to grow from a reserved freshman to the leader she is today.

“Surrounding myself with people who have such great leadership skills, such great confidence, people who are so smart, made me want to work hard,” Ankita said. “They all inspired me to grow. And I did grow. That person who sits in the corner—that’s not who I am anymore.”