This story was submitted by Ariana Gauba, grade 10.
On Aug. 13-14, more than 50 incoming ninth graders participated in Harker DECA’s ninth annual DECA Launch. The event focused on introducing students to Harker’s business and entrepreneurship program and the competitive events that DECA offers. By listening to officer-led presentations, engaging in hands-on activities, and taking part in mock competitions, students were able to gain a better understanding of what DECA is and create connections and memories — all in just two days.
“DECA Launch provides the perfect experience for our grade 9 class to get their first taste of the upper school and explore a new interest all at once. Through our mini campus tour and workshop by our upperclassmen mentors, we got to introduce ninth graders to the environment they’ll be immersed in for the next four years. Along with the opening activities, Launch hosted two mock DECA events: an Innovation Challenge and a Roleplay Tournament. Through these competitions, students were able to become a DECA competitor for the weekend and experience the atmosphere of an actual conference. Another great thing about Launch are the friendships. It’s always great to see bonds being forged and connections being made between the students by the end of the weekend. The other officers and I have made some of our most meaningful friendships here at DECA and we’re so excited to continue expanding the community to welcome our new members this year,” said senior Anika Muddu, CEO of Harker DECA.
As students arrived on Saturday morning, officers gave them name tags and swag bags. After enjoying breakfast, attendees made their way into the Nichols Hall auditorium for the opening ceremony.
Muddu and executive vice president Rohan Gorti, grade 12, kicked off the event by giving a formal introduction and presentation to the ninth graders about DECA on the international and schoolwide levels. After that, attendees had the chance to hear from former vice president of competitions Bryan Zhang ʼ21, who provided his insight and experiences with DECA. Then, ICDC competitor and former director of roleplays Cynthia Wang, grade 11, gave her advice to the new students.
Following the opening ceremony, attendees met with their Launch groups and mentors to play an icebreaker game called the marshmallow challenge. As they tried to create the tallest towers with spaghetti noodles, marshmallows and tape, they learned about the importance of working with a team.
Then, attendees took a tour of the upper school campus. After arriving at the innovation center, they listened to an introductory presentation, and officers gave presentations about the five competitive event clusters of DECA: Business Management and Administration, Hospitality and Tourism, Finance, Marketing and Entrepreneurship.
“Cluster presentations are one of the most important presentations of DECA Launch as they explain each cluster in depth and the events that go with it, which help ninth graders narrow down their options,” said director of roleplays Sanaa Bhorkar, grade 10.
Next was lunch, followed by the introduction of the Innovation Challenge — a shortened version of the Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan event that DECA offers. Director of written events Emily Mitnick, grade 10, introduced how to write an executive summary and create a cohesive slideshow presentation. She also introduced this year’s theme — niches — and explained the importance of niches within target markets of a company.
“The DECA Launch inspired me to think outside of the box with a new company pitch and to think on the spot during Roleplays. I learned so much about business and entrepreneurship during just these two days!” said Sophia Bagley, grade 9.
“The Innovation Challenge represented everything DECA has to offer: the creative freedom to communicate our ideas, the extremely supportive community to lean on and learn from, and the endless choices we are privileged enough to receive in our various pursuits,” said Pavitra Kasthuri, grade 9.
For the remainder of the day, students began to brainstorm what product or service they would like to create for the project. Day one concluded with a quick closing about what to expect for day two and commendations.
“DECA wasn’t something I thought I’d be interested in, but after attending the Launch, I think I found something that I would really enjoy doing. I’m so excited to join this program, and I can’t wait to attend future conferences!” said Helen Gu, grade 9.
Day two started bright and early with a cereal bar for breakfast. Next, students had the opportunity to hear from chapter advisor Juston Glass about this year’s new membership theme, “Get the Edge.” He also highlighted Harker’s business and entrepreneurship programs. Additionally, seniors Rohan Gorti and Zubin Khera, founders of TuffToy — a dog toy company started in Harker’s incubator program — gave a presentation about their company and experience with Harker’s entrepreneurship class.
After a short stretch break, the competitions subteam introduced a Kahoot! with questions that might appear on their future examinations. Subsequently, Bhorkar gave a roleplay tips and tricks workshop and performed a live roleplay. After that, attendees listened to a written events workshop as well as a graphic design workshop presented by the public relations subteam.
Then, students continued to work on their innovation plan in their groups. After lunch, students continued to work on their projects until the mock roleplay competitions. Mentors came to teach students about how to present a roleplay, and in pairs each attendee had the opportunity to perform in a mock competition.
“I see real potential in the Class of 2026, not just regarding roleplays, but in general. I can’t wait to see what they achieve in the next four years!” said mentor Sam Parupudi, grade 10.
Shortly after, arrived and enjoyed dinner before attending the alumni panel in the auditorium. Once hearing a summary of Launch from Gorti and VP of operations Chloe Lee, grade 11, they had the opportunity to talk to four alumni Shania Wang ʼ19, Rohan Varma ʼ21, Gianna Chan ʼ22 and Lucas Wang ʼ17 about their experiences with DECA throughout their high school years and beyond.
As the alumni panel concluded, students joined their parents in the auditorium and presented their innovation plans. As the judges calculated their scores, students and parents watched the Launch recap video, highlighting the success of the attendees over the course of the weekend. DECA Launch 2022 concluded with closing remarks from Mr. Glass and an awards ceremony highlighting the attendees’ successes.
“DECA Launch this year was a huge success,” said Glass. “Both the officer team and the attendees worked extremely hard and took on challenges with open arms. I was impressed with the class of 2026’s DECAcation and the amazing ideas they came up with in just two days. I know we are going to achieve great things in the upcoming year, and let’s get the edge!”
Winners are as follows (all students are grade 9):
Roleplay Tournament:
First Place: Arushi Sahasi and Kimi Yashar
Second Place: Brenna Ren and Tiffany Zhu
Third Place: Amishi Gupta and Yena Yu
Others in Top 10: Mindy Truong and Tanvi Sivakumar, Farhan Ansari and Krish Arora, Ishan Mysore and Ethan Lei, Carissa Wu and Helen Gu, Sahil Jain and Krish Goenka, Pavitra Kasthuri and Aya Sugaya, Celina Xu and Jingjing Liang.
Innovation Challenge:
Most Innovative: Mihir Gupta, Carissa Wu, Helen Gu, Sophia Bagley, Justin Yang, Pavitra Kasthuri
Best Presentation: Samuel Tong, Yena Yu, Janam Chahal, Minal Jalil, David Li, Victoria Ma, MacEnzie Blue
Most Feasible: Allison Hoang, Angelina Antony, Aanya Shah, Sahil Jain, Krish Goenka, Roshan Amurthur, Samantha Liu, Ayaan Awais
Best Overall: Daniel Miao, Eddie Zhang, Evan Zhang, Celina Xu, Jingjing Liang, Leana Zhou