Over 20,000 high school students from around the world sit in orderly rows of chairs within a vast, dimly lit room. Their gazes remain fixed on the brightly illuminated stage upfront, each of them driven by the same ambition: earning a spot on that stage at DECA’s International Career Development Conference’s final competition. Senior Maya Affaki listens intently as the announcer reads the names of the qualifiers for the Hotel and Lodging Management Series Event, her long-held goal to stage slipping away with each name that isn’t hers. Just as she prepares to leave empty-handed for the second year in a row, the final name echoes through the hall: “Maya Affaki.”

Maya discovered her potential in the world of business during her very first experience at DECA launch in frosh year. Winning with her team’s entrepreneurship plan marked the beginning of a series of successes in the program. As an innately confident and lively person, she opted for the Hospitality and Tourism route, specializing in hotels to bring her vibrant personality into real-world scenarios. Among the many skills she’s developed through DECA, the most transformative has been her ability to confidently articulate ideas to adults, extending well beyond the roleplay settings.

“DECA has taught me how to talk to adults in a competent way, in a way that they can respect me for,” Maya said. “Just from the first introduction when I’m greeting them, the judge knows I know what I’m talking about.”

As she worked tirelessly to improve her testing and roleplay abilities, eventually advancing her way to ICDC the following year, Maya assumed the role of Director of Testing to deepen her involvement with DECA. The year after, she mentored underclassmen, and now, as Executive Vice President, she collaborates with CEO senior Sanaa Bhorkar to oversee the school’s DECA chapter, managing both logistical and administrative responsibilities. 

“In terms of doing projects together, I tend to be the one who comes up with specific steps and an overall plan and Maya can find any flaws in it,” Sanaa said. “I’m grateful that she has an extra sixth sense at times. Our styles are also similar and we have a really efficient way of working together. At times, I get more authoritative while she’s a little more open, and sometimes it’s the opposite.”

Maya’s animated and welcoming nature not only makes her naturally adept at forming meaningful relationships with DECA officers and students, but also with her friends in social settings, even influencing them through her confident demeanor. Close friend senior Yasmin Sudarsanam credits Maya for her own self-assurance and willingness to approach new people.

“We fill in each other’s gaps,” Yasmin said. “I can be really introverted and not like talking to new people, while Maya’s one of the most extroverted, friendly people I know. She’s made me a better version of myself and more willing to be extroverted by pushing me to talk to new people who I might’ve not known before or to be more confident in myself.”

Maya’s poise under pressure can be traced back to her early involvement with dance at the age of five. Inspired by a Cinderella ballet performance, she eagerly enrolled in ballet classes, determined to achieve the level of skill of the dancers she admired on stage. Maya considers herself as a free-spirited person in daily life, making the order and discipline of ballet especially appealing. 

“I like how ballet is very structured and balanced,” Maya said. “Nine times out of 10, it’s going to be the same plie exercise in every single ballet class you go to. You learn the combination, then you perform it.”

Maya has remained actively involved in both school and outside-of-school dance since kindergarten and is now a member of Harker Dance Company, where she explore styles like jazz and contemporary with her teammates and coordinates bonding for the group as team planner.

While dancing solo limits the shapes and rhythms she can create, Maya feels that group performance allows for a more powerful effect to manifest through coordinated, complementary movements, while also relieving the pressures that come with solos. Maya once felt anxious before every performance in elementary school, but now, when dancing with HDC, she finds comfort in knowing that her mistakes can be effortlessly masked through improvisation. She refers to dance as both a platform for creativity and a constant source of motivation, keeping her engaged with specific, tangible goals.

“There’s always something to motivate you in dance,” Maya said. “It could be stretching because if you don’t stretch every day, you’re not going to get flexible. It’s also in a form that’s fun. I get to listen to fun music and perform fun dances. I like that I can manipulate my body into shapes and textures that are appealing to the eye.” 

Close friend senior Tiana Salvi, who performs with Maya in Dance Production, admires how Maya’s flair for elegance carries into her other dance performances. 

“That grace from ballet definitely shines through in dance,” Tiana said. “It’s a big contrast from the way you see her because she’s very approachable and easy going as a person. When she’s on stage, she takes this regalness in the way she carries herself. Even by the way she lifts her neck, she looks like a ballerina.”

Maya approaches each effort in both dance and DECA as part of a larger purpose: laying the groundwork for something bigger than herself. As a team planner on HDC and Executive Vice President in DECA, Maya hopes that her work will not only empower others but also create a legacy of spirit and initiative that will evolve and strengthen beyond her time.

“If I lead by example, people will be able to say, ‘Oh, look at how many team bondings she did. I should do that too or even more,’ and try to surpass that and in the future, probably have a more bonded team,” Maya said. “In DECA, I want there to be a lot more transparency between the officers and the members. If I foster that, then the next generation will foster that.”