Chelsea Xie

Sophomores Hannah Jiang and Joyce Zhang present their business idea “Project H.O.M.E.” Contestants pitched business plans and marketing campaigns to judges on the first day of the competition.

Forty-seven students and seven chaperones attended the DECA International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Fla. from April 25 to May 1. 

Nine students qualified for the final round by scoring in the top 20 overall for their respective event. Sophomore Audrey Hu won 2nd place in her roleplay event, Quick Serve Restaurant Management Series. Frosh Isaac Liu, sophomore Bazigh Tahirzad, juniors Amishi Gupta and Tanvi Sivakumar and seniors Maya Affaki, Caleb Tang and Naiya Daswani scored in the top 10.

Co-CEO of Harker’s DECA Chapter Amishi Gupta (11) highlighted the competitive yet collaborative nature of ICDC. 

“I love competing at ICDC because it is a chance for my partner and me to compete one last time this competitive year among other students from all around the world,” Amishi said. “I love this conference especially because I get to meet new people and connect with our chapter even more on this six day trip.”’

Contestants pitched business plans and marketing campaigns to judges on the first day of the competition. They competed in individual role-play and writing tasks and team decision-making events on the second day.

Some students also attended the non-competitive Leadership Academy, participating in workshops led by industry professionals and learning key business skills like building a resume and collaborating in a team.

Sophomore Colin Li chose the Thrive branch of Leadership Academy, where he learned about collaboration and communication in business. He especially appreciated the chance to connect with students from diverse backgrounds.

“The most important part was the networking element where you get to meet a ton of new people from all across the world,” Colin said. “During competitions, you don’t get that chance, and you get a better chance of networking at Leadership Academy because it’s entirely dedicated to meeting people.” 

The conference began with the Grand Opening Session, where attendees around the globe gathered in a convention center to socialize, watch a trampoline performance by Zero Gravity Arts and listen to keynote speaker Rob Lawless. 

Harker DECA, along with many other school chapters, visited Disney World and Universal Studios in the downtime before or after competing. Students split up into groups and roamed the parks, taking advantage of the chance to unwind after hours of competitive preparation.

Executive VP of Harker’s DECA Chapter Maya Affaki (12) highlighted that the longer duration of the conference, coupled with a smaller group of students, offered a more laid-back and tight-knit opportunity to socialize.

“ICDC is different from states and all the other conferences because we get to do so many more activities as a chapter,” Maya said. “At states, there are almost 200 people, so there is only so much we can do together, but the entire ICDC chapter bonds together because we get to do so many activities like the Disney and Universal trip.”

Over 26,000 high school students and advisers from across the world attended the conference, a record number for DECA. ICDC participants qualified by placing high in their event at the State Career Development Conference in late February. 

Students selected their competitive events early in the school year and practiced for months, utilizing DECA study sessions and gaining experience at the Western Region Leadership Conference, the Silicon Valley Career Development Conference and finally the State Career Development Conference.