![“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 to attend first conference of the school year
Courtesy of Harker DECA
DECA students will travel to Arizona today to participate in a mock conference before the official competition season begins. This event will allow DECA members to participate in roleplays as well as practice written events.
November 16, 2017
DECA members are attending their first conference of the year, the Western Region Leadership Conference (WRLC), in Phoenix, Arizona today and this weekend.
Unlike in previous years, the students will not be attending the Leadership and Competitive Excellence (LACE) conference due to the fact that the Silicon Valley District Action Team, which hosted the LACE conferences, was dissolved last year. The WRLC conference will essentially have the same components as LACE did, but on a much larger scale.
“This one is actually held by national DECA rather than LACE, which is just Silicon Valley, so it’s going to be chapters from all over the western region,” vice president of public relations Shania Wang (11) said. “It’s just going to be all of us coming together and just kind of getting ready for the DECA year and getting pumped and everything.”
WRLC is a three-day leadership and career development conference promoting business knowledge and presentation in a professional setting. It will include chapters from all across the West Coast, including Ariz. and Nev.
“[WRLC] is a non-competitive conference where chapters from the western United States come together to partake in various workshops and activities. Students also get a chance to network with other schools from different areas and explore the city of Phoenix,” director of communications Radhika Jain (10) said. “I’ve never been there, but I am really looking forward to meeting new people from out of state and exploring Phoenix.”
Last year’s LACE conference, which took place from Nov. 11 to 13 in Santa Clara, included a speech from guest speaker Chef Jeff Henderson, author of “Cooked”; various workshops, including one hosted by upper school business and entrepreneurship teacher Michael Acheatel; conference roleplay event workshops and a dance.
The WRLC conference will host workshops presented by experts in their respective professions and a roleplay conference for students to network with other schools.
“[We got to] practice testing by working with mentors and judges that would judge you like they would in a real competition,” director of membership Mahi Kolla (10) said. “I was able to get a lot of practice from there and I got my first real roleplay score, which was really good, so I knew what to improve on for next time.”
This will be the first DECA conference for freshmen and new members of DECA.
“[I’m excited for] learning more about DECA and learning what it feels like to be at a real DECA conference,” Anvitha Tummala (9) said.
Out of the over 100 Harker students involved in DECA, around 30 will be attending, mostly new members of DECA. All DECA officers will also be attending.
“For a lot of students, because it is a usually high school only program, they haven’t had that exposure like they’ve had for athletics, or debate, or performing arts before, so this is very new to them,” Juston Glass, lead advisor for DECA, said. “It is definitely a confidence builder. It’s an energizer for them to come into DECA and say, ‘Wow this is an amazing program and something I want to commit my time to and dedicate myself to.'”
DECA’s next conference will be the Silicon Valley Career Development Conference, their first competitive conference of the year, which will take place from Jan. 5 to 7.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on November 16, 2017.
