Editor’s note: DECA used to be an acronym, but is now the organization’s name.

As the school year begins in earnest, the Harker DECA leadership team traveled to San Francisco’s Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing to learn from other chapters at this year’s Northern California DECA University.

DECA hones the skills of emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in finance, hospitality, management and marketing. The leadership team, including heads of public relations, treasury and membership, attended the Sept. 7 conference, which centered on teaching leadership teams critical skills needed to excel in the upcoming year.

Harker group advisor and mentor Juston Glass, director of business & entrepreneurial programs, said one important feature was for the group to see firsthand how businesses are using technologies to direct their teams. IBM, the ubiquitous technology company, and Uber, a four-year-old taxi service startup based in San Francisco, led the headlining discussions.

Shannon Hong, grade 10, public relations officer for DECA freshmen and sophomores, said she learned a great deal from her fellow DECA PR leaders, specifically “ways to make DECA the most prominent club in the school by utilizing social media properly.” She has used what she learned at the conference to plan a strong social media campaign for the club.

Gaurav Kumar, grade 12, director of PR for juniors and seniors, intends to use what he learned at the sessions to ensure the club has a top-notch relationship with the Harker community. “Making community outreach a more prominent part of our chapter’s endeavors,” is a key theme for him now, he said.

Club president Monica Thukral, grade 12, used the conference to work on her ability to manage the group as a whole. She learned “how other chapter presidents and vice presidents are better able to get everyone involved … to meet deadlines and collaborate more effectively,” she said. An overriding theme of the conference was goal setting and planning, something Thukral and her fellow leaders will be able to leverage for each of their teams.

After a long day of networking and learning, the leadership team bonded over shared excitement at a Giants game, unfortunately a 2-1 loss to the rival Arizona Diamondbacks. “When DECA activity gets crazy, these events will help keep the team together,” said Glass.