![“[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 team garners awards at annual ICDC competition
Provided by Elaine Zhai
Juniors Mahi Kolla, Phil Han and Sid Dudyala pose with awards after the conference. The conference took place at Orlando, Florida.
May 4, 2019
Qualifying DECA members competed in Orlando, Florida from April 27 to 30 for the organization’s annual International Career Development Conference (ICDC), which hosted over 18,000 other students worldwide. Students had to qualify for the conference at the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) late February, spending months beforehand preparing role-plays and presentations.
In terms of overall awards, duo Phil Han (11) and Evan Cheng (11) scored first place in their travel and tourism decision making role-play. Claire Luo (10) and Thomas Rainow (11) placed top ten in business finance series and automotive services marketing series respectively. Lastly, Juniors Rishi Dange and Mahi Kolla individually achieved top 20 in their financial consulting and entrepreneurship series competitions, respectively.
“These past three years, I’ve been searching for validation through DECA,” Phil said. “Because it was my dream for so long, when it actually happened, what I felt was almost indescribable. I am extremely grateful for everyone who has supported me and of course, my partner Evan.”
Evan expressed similar sentiments, feeling grateful for bonding well with his partner, Phil. Although unexpected, Evan thought the duo deserved the prestigious award after all the time they spent practicing for the role-plays individually.
“Going into the conference, I had no idea what to expect since Phil and I had not practiced together beforehand,” he said. “The entire thing was a blur—throwing together strategies the night before, going into our first role-play, then qualifying for the final round. When Phil and I finally heard our names called for first place at the award ceremony, the feeling was pure elation, and there’s no one I would have rather shared the moment with than Phil.”
Ronit Gagneja (11), Pranav Varmaraja (9) and Naveen Mirapuri (11) received awards for their role-plays but did not place in their overall events.
