![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.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 members take top awards at annual State Career Development
Students sit in anticipation for the awards ceremony at DECA SCDC to begin. The event took place from Thursday, March 2 to Sunday, March 5 in the Santa Clara Marriott.
March 7, 2017
This year, 106 upper school students attended the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) to compete with students in DECA chapters from all over California from Mar. 2 to 5 at the Santa Clara Marriott.
Students competed in various events based on business management, hospitality, tourism, marketing, finance, and also participated in activities involving roleplays and presentations. Aside from the competition, students socialized, attended workshops, listened to keynote speakers, took business exams and enjoyed a dance.
Forty-nine Harker individuals and teams placed within the top 10 for their events. 21 students qualified to compete in the International Career Development Conference (ICDC), including first place winners Mishu Nitulescu (11), the duo of Enya Lu (10) and Shania Wang (10), Evan Cheng (9) and Rohan Cherukuri (9).
“Attending SCDC gives students insight on business in the real world and provides great opportunities to learn how to interact with others and present innovative ideas,” SCDC attendee Logan Bhamidipaty (10) said. “It really is a valuable experience for anyone who attends- and plus, you get to meet new people.”
The Harker attendees also supported Dolan Dworak (11) in his campaign to become the president of the California DECA officer team for the next school year. David Xu from Foothill High School in Pleasanton won the election.
Dolan Dworak stands with his campaign booth where he met with delegates. Dolan lost election to David Xu of Foothill.
Students left campus by bus at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday morning. After arriving at the Santa Clara Marriott, they ate lunch and then participated in a study session before checking in and taking written examinations. On Friday, students competed in roleplay events, went to business workshops, took protege tests on various business fields and attended a general session at the Santa Clara Convention Center.
On Saturday, students presented written event projects, attended more workshops, took part in a formal recognition session for mini awards and participated in a dance. Finally, students attended the grand awards session before returning to the hotel, checking out and leaving at 12:30 p.m on Sunday.
Top finishers at the SCDC are now preparing to compete in this year’s ICDC at Anaheim, which will take place from April 26 to 29. Many non-qualifying students are also applying for the Leadership Academy, acceptance to which will allow them to attend ICDC non-competitively.
