This article prepared from a DECA press release by Shannon Hong, grade 10, director of public relations for Harker DECA
In early February more than 100 students from Harker’s DECA chapter traveled to the Marriott Hotel in Anaheim to attend the California State Career Development Conference (CDC). The three-day event featured workshops with renowned speakers, tough competition and experiences for a lifetime. Harker performed admirably with 26 finalists in the top eight; of those, 16 advanced to the top four, qualifying for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC). In addition, Harker will send eight students to ICDC to participate either in The Stock Market game or the Virtual Business Challenge.
After school on Feb. 5, 103 students took charter buses from Harker to Anaheim, stopping only for refreshments at In-and-Out Burger. The following morning, Harker hosted a chapter breakfast at Denny’s and “Officer Hours,” during which students could get last-minute advice and tips. That afternoon, students took their written examinations and then headed to the opening session. During the opening session, Sandip Nirmel, grade 9, spoke to the crowd, urging them to elect him president of the 64th California DECA Team. Although Nirmel did not win, he did a great job and was recognized by many of his peers as a rising star.
“For me, this year’s state CDC can be summed up in four words: Talk about awesome, possum!” said Nirmel. “Leading up to the conference, I really didn’t know what to expect. The highlight of my conference definitely was speaking to a crowd of around 2,000 people on why they should elect me president. Standing on stage as the audience cheered and my school’s DECA chapter chanted, “Sandip! Sandip! Sandip!” made me smile, and it still makes me smile today, just a week later. As it turned out, standing at my booth for nearly five hours allowed me to meet so many charismatic and friendly people that I had never met before. This is what DECA is really about, in my opinion.”
Next, attendants gathered for their role-play events. After the competition, Harker DECA took the students to Disneyland to relax after a challenging, but rewarding day.
The next day students competing in written events had their time to shine. Afterward, at the Recognition and Mini-Awards Session, Harker was honored for its wonderful performance as a chapter. Harker was the only California school to complete every campaign: Membership, Global Entrepreneurship, Promotional and Community Service. For this achievement, Harker earned six extra stops to the ICDC Thrive Academy. In addition, out of a total of six California teams to qualify for the international conference in the Stock Market Game, Harker sent three.
“This was my first state conference as a freshman,” said Haley Tran, grade 9. “I had so much fun meeting new people and seeing how wonderful and how big California DECA is. I used this conference more of as a learning experience to test out the waters for future year; I can’t wait for the next time.”
Harker DECA president Monica Thukral, grade 12, was named California DECA student of the year. Her passion is one of the main reasons the business and entrepreneurship program is so successful. “Being student of the year was really amazing,” said Thukral. “I got called back to the stage during the awards ceremony and afterwards people came up to me and congratulated me. I’m so grateful to [adviser] Mr. [Juston] Glass, to my officer team, and to a remarkable chapter I’m proud to be a part of.”
“This conference is also my last states conference,” added Thukral. “It was definitely bittersweet. I’m so glad that we were so successful this year as a chapter. I’ve invested a lot of time into DECA with late nights and early mornings. But I’ve really enjoyed all of it, especially working with other students and helping them prepare. I’ll miss it so much. DECA gave me so much in terms of how I’ve grown as a person; I’m definitely more confident and self-assured than I was before. Go Harker DECA!”
The day ended with a conference dance, at which students let loose and had fun after a full day of competing and learning about business.
Throughout the weekend, workshops were held to complement the competition. Topics included communication, manufacturing, technology, start-ups, financial planning and networking. Students found them entertaining and helpful, and came home eager to begin implementing some of the tips in their daily lives.
“In our free time, we went to workshops, which covered topics about everything from understanding relationships between people to healthy business practices. It was really awesome to talk to the business professionals!” said Tong Wu, grade 10.
In addition, protégé events (examinations based on specialized skill sets) included green business, event planning, finance and investing, real estate and emerging leaders. Harker competed and finished top eight in every event. Two students placed among top three; Shannon Hong, grade 10 earned first place in emerging leaders, Mabel Luo, grade 12, took third place in event planning.
The finale was the Grand Awards Ceremony, at which Harker took a record number of wins (see results below) and left as one of the most-respected schools. The International Career Development Conference will be May 2-7. More than 20 Harker students are expected to represent us. Go Eagles!
First Place: Simran Singh, grade 11, Entrepreneurship Written Plan.
Second Place: Julia Fink, grade 12, Apparel and Accessories Marketing; Raymond Xu, grade 9, Principles of Finance; Riya Chandra and Alexis Gauba, both grade 9, Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan; Emily Lin and Allison Sun, both grade 12, Sports and Entertainment Marketing Operations Research Event.
Third Place: Ankur Karwal and Mehul Khetrapal, both grade 10, Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan; Leo Yu, grade 11, and Sophia Luo, grade 10, Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research Event; Simran Singh and Manthra Panchapakesan, both grade 11, Marketing Communications Team Decision Making Event; Alexander Mo, grade 9, Professional Selling Event.
Fourth Place: Sachin Vadodaria, grade 12, Director of Individual Series Events and Business Finance Individual Series Event; Raymond Xu, grade 9, Principles of Finance.
Fifth Place: Shannon Hong, grade 10, Restaurant and Food Service Management Individual Series Event; Monica Thukral, grade 12, Food Marketing Individual Series Event.
Sixth Place: Arben Gutierrez-Bujari, grade 9, Professional Selling Event; Jonathan Lee, grade 11, Sports and Entertainment Marketing Operations Research Event.
Eighth Place: Mabel Luo, grade 12, Business Services Marketing Individual Series Event; Ria Gandhi, grade 9, Entrepreneurship Participating – Independent.
Harker DECA is an international competitive business organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in four fields of business: marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Our DECA chapter integrates classroom instruction, applies learning, connects to business and promotes competition to prepare the next generation to be academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible and experienced leaders.
This article was originally published in the winter 2013 Harker Quarterly.
At the core of Silicon Valley startups is the idea of rapid expansion. This rapid-growth philosophy has been taken to heart by Harker’s new business and entrepreneurship department. The department is already flourishing with business classes, a podcast series, stewardship of Harker’s TedX program and its thriving DECA chapter.
Harker’s chapter is one of 3,500 DECA organizations that educate young leaders and entrepreneurs on marketing, finance, hospitality and management. (Formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America, the organization adopted the acronym as its full name when it became an international body.)
November is DECA month; chapters around the world are promoting the club and preparing its members for competition season. Harker’s DECA chapter is no exception, with students kicking off the school year at a fever pitch. One of their primary goals is maximizing the chapter’s visibility on campus. The chapter has gone from six members in 2009 to125 in 2012 and is looking to continue that impressive growth streak. Chapter vice president Ariana Shulman, grade 12, says, “I am looking forward to seeing the underclassmen get excited and involved in the DECA chapter this year.”
To publicize the chapter, DECA has organized numerous events, the first of which was an ice cream social to kick off DECA month. On Nov. 1, students flocked to the event to enjoy sundaes and learn about the chapter. Shannon Hong, grade 10, public relations officer for freshmen and juniors, said, “It was a great way to let over 200 students have fun while getting to know DECA.”
The chapter is using more than just frozen treats to inform the community about its activities. DECA participated in Harker’s student club fair, showcasing its events and highlighting what the students would learn over the course of the school year. The chapter even put on its own competitive events fair to discuss its upcoming competitions and events.
DECA is making sure to keep parents informed about what their students are up to through frequent press releases and events, including a Nov. 9 DECA parents night. More than 150 parents attended the event in the Nichols Hall atrium, where they learned about the chapter’s upcoming competitive schedule. Club president Monica Thukral, grade 12, said the parents visited event-specific booths to learn “how they could be involved as parents and what their students would be doing at each event.”
DECA also is participating in The Stock Market Game, a nationwide stock market competition. The SMG gives teams a virtual $100,000 to invest and measures their returns in real time. More than 130 Harker students and faculty are participating, which has led to a good-natured competition between the student and faculty participants. At press time, two student groups were ranked third and sixth in the Western region, out of approximately 1,200 teams; they are ninth and 17th nationally. The top 25 teams in the region will present their investment strategies to fellow attendees at a conference in May.
To further enhance learning, three investment speakers will visit Harker during the semester to discuss their stock market strategies and successes. On Oct. 30 Rajeev Seth kicked off the series by sharing his strategies for navigating the stock market. Seth is a leader in financial services who has worked with asset managers and hedge funds, and recently served as senior vice president at Bank of America.
Contributing to the community is a key part of DECA’s charter and, in that spirit, the chapter already has launched two efforts this year. On Nov. 6 DECA worked with the Red Cross Club to assemble 100 emergency preparedness kits during a lunch period. The kits, containing toothbrushes, hand sanitizer and other emergency essentials, were donated to those in need.
The DECA chapter also has partnered with the student council to help recycle Capri Sun containers at the end of every lunch period. Large banners on the wall of the Edge implore students not to throw the estimated 400 containers a day in the garbage, but instead recycle them to help promote a green Harker campus.
Meanwhile, the business and entrepreneurship department (BE), which is in its infancy, has hit the ground running. Juston Glass, the department’s advisor, says the goal for the program is “to connect the students with the outside business world” and eventually “be the most comprehensive business program at the high school level.”
One of the ways the program is connecting its students with the real business world is through its podcast series. Over the course of the school year, local business leaders will be interviewed and share their knowledge with the burgeoning entrepreneurs in the program. The first guest, Satish Dharmaraj, is a partner at Redpoint Ventures and was the CEO and cofounder of Zimbra. The program’s host, Glenn Reddy, grade 11, said, “It’s been great that I’ve been able to connect at a more personal level with these entrepreneurs and the podcast will give … watchers a lot of great information.”
The BE classes also are giving students practical experience on how to run a business through the Finish Line Challenge, put on by the athletic apparel retailer. During the Finish Line Challenge, future business leaders tackle real business problems. Students are asked to help design a more interactive, and ultimately more profitable, customer experience in Finish Line stores by using market research to evaluate and give suggestions to improve the retailer’s omnichannel strategy. To give real-world perspective on their solutions, Glass arranged for two guest speakers: a store manager with five years of firsthand experience and the Northern California district manager.
The store manager provided the students with insight into how new employees are trained to engage customers and gave them an inside look into store operations. After the session, the classes broke into groups and pitched their improvement ideas to the manager. The winning groups from each period were guaranteed interviews for a seasonal job at Finish Line. Ones of the winners, Scott Song, grade 9, said, “The best part of the Finish Line visit was learning the ins and outs as a manager of a store.”
Neither the DECA chapter nor the BE program show any signs of slowing down, with further investment discussions in late November and early December and more podcasts being recorded. DECA president Thukral was particularly excited for the Harker DECA fundraising outing to the premiere of the second “Hunger Games” movie on Nov. 22, calling it “an event for the whole school and a bonding event for DECA.” The Harker community can look forward to a packed calendar full of informative and entertaining events – and hopefully more ice cream.
Three teams of Harker students — the most of any school — have reached the top 20 in the 2013-14 DECA Stock Market Game.
In the game, students create and manage a virtual investment portfolio. “They started out on Sept. 3 with just $100,000. With diligent and thorough research, attending our Investment Management Seminar Series presentations, and some healthy risk taking, these teams earned over $99,000 put together within three months!” said Juston Glass, director of Harker’s business and entrepreneurship department. “That’s impressive, and yes, they are now taking offers for investment advice.”
The team of Alex Tuharsky, grade 11, Aditya Batra, grade 12, and Pranav Batra, also grade 12, are currently the top team from Harker, boasting returns 29.25 percent above the S&P 500 and ranking fourth in the Western region and 10th internationally. Meanwhile, junior Andrew Zhang is ranked fifth in the region and 16th internationally with a return of 21.92 percent over the S&P 500, and the team of David Lin and Ashwath Thirumalai, both grade 11, are following close behind, showing a 21.74 percent return and ranking sixth in the region and 17th overall.
These stellar rankings qualify the students for the championship round at the DECA International Conference in Atlanta in May, where they will compete with the top 25 teams from each of the four regions. Each team’s portfolios, research methods and investment strategies will be presented and evaluated to see who will be named the DECA Stock Market Game champion.
At the core of Silicon Valley startups is the idea of rapid expansion. This rapid-growth philosophy has been taken to heart by Harker’s new business and entrepreneurship (BE) department. The department is already flourishing with business classes, a podcast series, stewardship of Harker’s TedX program and its thriving DECA chapter. Harker’s chapter is one of 3,500 DECA organizations that educate young leaders and entrepreneurs on marketing, finance, hospitality and management. (Formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America, the organization adopted the acronym as its full name when it became an international body.)
November was DECA month; chapters around the world promoted the club and prepared members for competition season. Harker’s DECA chapter was no exception, as students kicked off the school year at a fever pitch. One of their primary goals is maximizing the chapter’s visibility on campus. The chapter has gone from six members in 2009 to125 in 2012 and is looking to continue that impressive growth streak.
Chapter vice president Ariana Shulman, grade 12, says, “I am looking forward to seeing the underclassmen get excited and involved in the DECA chapter this year.” To publicize the chapter, DECA has organized numerous events, the first of which was an ice cream social to kick off DECA month. On Nov. 1, students flocked to the event to enjoy sundaes and learn about the chapter. Shannon Hong, grade 10, public relations officer for freshmen and juniors, said, “It was a great way to let over 200 students have fun while getting to know DECA.”
The chapter is using more than just frozen treats to inform the community about its activities. DECA participated in Harker’s student club fair, showcasing its events and highlighting what the students would learn over the course of the school year. The chapter even held its own competitive events fair to discuss its upcoming competitions and events.
DECA is making sure to keep parents informed about what their students are up to through frequent press releases and events, including a Nov. 9 DECA parents night. More than 150 parents attended the event in the Nichols Hall atrium, where they learned about the chapter’s upcoming competitive schedule. Club president Monica Thukral, grade 12, said the parents visited event-specific booths to learn “how they could be involved as parents and what their students would be doing at each event.”
DECA also is participating in The Stock Market Game, a nationwide stock market competition. The SMG gives teams a virtual $100,000 to invest and measures their returns in real time. More than 130 Harker students and faculty are participating, which has led to a good-natured competition between the student and faculty participants. At press time, two student groups were ranked third and sixth in the Western region, out of approximately 1,200 teams; they are ninth and 17th nationally.
The top 25 teams in the region will present their investment strategies to fellow attendees at a conference in May. To further enhance learning, three investment speakers will visit Harker during the semester to discuss their stock market strategies and successes. On Oct. 30 Rajeev Seth kicked off the series by sharing his strategies for navigating the stock market. Seth is a leader in financial services who has worked with asset managers and hedge funds, and recently served as senior vice president at Bank of America.
Contributing to the community is a key part of DECA’s charter and, in that spirit, the chapter already has launched two efforts this year. On Nov. 6 DECA worked with the Red Cross Club to assemble 100 emergency preparedness kits during a lunch period. The kits, containing toothbrushes, hand sanitizer and other emergency essentials, were donated to those in need.
The DECA chapter also has partnered with the student council to help recycle Capri Sun containers at the end of every lunch period. Large banners on the wall of the Edge implore students not to throw the estimated 400 containers a day in the garbage, but instead recycle them to help promote a green Harker campus. Meanwhile, the business and entrepreneurship department
The BE program, which is in its infancy, has hit the ground running. Juston Glass, the department’s advisor, says the goal for the program is “to connect the students with the outside business world” and eventually “be the most comprehensive business program at the high school level.”
One of the ways the program is connecting its students with the real business world is through its podcast series. Over the course of the school year, local business leaders will be interviewed and share their knowledge with the burgeoning entrepreneurs in the program. The first guest, Satish Dharmaraj, is a partner at Redpoint Ventures and was the CEO and co-founder of Zimbra. The program’s host, Glenn Reddy, grade 11, said, “It’s been great that I’ve been able to connect at a more personal level with these entrepreneurs and the podcast will give … watchers a lot of great information.”
The BE classes also are giving students practical experience on how to run a business through the Finish Line Challenge, put on by the athletic apparel retailer. During the Finish Line Challenge, future business leaders tackle real business problems. Students are asked to help design a more interactive, and ultimately more profitable, customer experience in Finish Line stores by using market research to evaluate and give suggestions to improve the retailer’s omnichannel strategy. To give real-world perspective on their solutions, Glass arranged for two guest speakers: a store manager with five years of firsthand experience and the Northern California district manager. The store manager provided the students with insight into how new employees are trained to engage customers and gave them an inside look into store operations.
After the session, the classes broke into groups and pitched their improvement ideas to the manager. The winning groups from each period were guaranteed interviews for a seasonal job at Finish Line. Ones of the winners, Scott Song, grade 9, said, “The best part of the Finish Line visit was learning the ins and outs as a manager of a store.”
Neither the DECA chapter nor the BE program show any signs of slowing down, with investment discussions held in late November and early December and more podcasts being recorded. DECA president Thukral was particularly excited for the Harker DECA fundraising outing to the premiere of the second “Hunger Games” movie on Nov. 22, calling it “an event for the whole school and a bonding event for DECA.” The Harker community can look forward to a packed calendar full of informative and entertaining events – and hopefully more ice cream.
This article was originally published in the spring 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Entrepreneurship is nothing new to Harker students and now the school will draw together existing activities and new pieces to launch an academic Business and Entrepreneurial Program (BEP) in the fall.
Current elements, including the business club and its DECA participation, and Harker’s TEDx conferences will be laced together with new elements to make a complete program.
“We are ready to take our current elements of business and entrepreneurial opportunities for our students to the programmatic level,” said Chris Nikoloff, head of school. “The current elements of DECA, TEDx, career panels and other special opportunities will be assembled into a comprehensive program that will give students direct business and entrepreneurial training, experience and opportunities appropriate to the high school level. We want to leverage our location and contacts in Silicon Valley to create unique learning opportunities and experiences for students interested in these areas.”
DECA
The upper school’s Harker Business Club (HBC) participates each year in DECA events, and that effort will be rolled into the program. A new not-for-credit DECA class is being added that will teach future leaders and entrepreneurs ethics, leadership skills and expertise in business- related fields, and students will prepare business plans for DECA competitions.
Michaela Kastelman, grade 12, wound up her term as DECA Silicon Valley president in March and Sophia Luo, grade 9, ascended to a new role at DECA Silicon Valley as secretary and treasurer for the next year.
“I am very excited that Harker is starting a business and entrepreneurship program!” said Kastelman. “Many students are very interested in learning about business and entrepreneurship and I think that it will be a great opportunity for Harker students to gain pre-professional education and experience. Several current and past Harker students have already created and developed their own startups and I think that a business and entrepreneurship program will further support Harker students’ entrepreneurial spirit and interest.”
The DECA annual state competition was in March and more than 20 students qualified for and are attending the international conference in April.
DECA, which used to stand for Distributive Education Clubs of America, but is now the actual name of the program, is an international association of high school and college students, and teachers of marketing, management and entrepreneurship. The group works to prepare leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in business, finance, hospitality and marketing. Harker has had a business club for several years and 77 members attended the Silicon Valley Career Development Conference hosted by the California association of DECA in San Jose in January. Harker students won 14 trophies and several medals, with Harker teams and individuals earning eight top- three finishes. Nikoloff was one of the many judges at the event.
“Through my involvement in HBC and DECA, I’ve learned key life and business skills that I will carry with me through college and life,” said Kastelman. “I’ve particularly grown through my officer positions, which have helped me develop as a leader and team member. From arranging conferences for 800 people to helping other schools to start and develop their own DECA chapters, I’ve learned how to inspire a shared vision and foster community, which I think will be important skills for college and my future career.
“I’ve also developed my critical thinking, public thinking and time management skills through DECA and HBC, which will greatly benefit me during college,” continued Kastelman. “This program could help students discover their interest in business and entrepreneurship and … I think that (participating) Harker students will get a jump start into entering the Silicon Valley startup community as they will be able to gain essential business related skills.”
The club will now be an adjunct to the overall program. “We will be offering a DECA class, formerly only a club activity, as an extra period option for the upper school students,” said Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs.
TEDx
Almost 200 high school students came to Harker in October 2011 for the first-ever independently organized TEDxHarkerSchool event, headlined by keynote speaker Guy Kawasaki, chief evangelist at Apple in the ’80s. The event featured five top entrepreneurs, each offering unique perspectives and advice to the young audience. The TEDx committee is in full swing planning the next TEDx conference at Harker for April 27. Speakers are still being lined up, but the group had, by March 1, contacted its first round of potential speakers and outlined a comprehensive campaign to attract students from other high schools and colleges.
Marketing director for this year’s TEDx, Glenn Reddy, grade 10, noted, “As a student interested in going into business later in life, I am very excited about the new Business and Entrepreneurial Program. In the past, business-oriented students have had few course options in their field, but now that will change. Being a part of a larger program will help us expand the TEDxHarkerSchool event to involve more students.”
Initiating the BEP in the fall of 2013 is contingent upon finding the right person to chair the new department, said Nikoloff, and he is consulting with some of the many entrepreneurs in the Harker community to identify candidates.
Meanwhile, Kastelman is excited – and maybe a bit jealous – that the program is in the works. “I can’t wait to see how the program develops!” she said. “I really wish that this program had existed when I was a freshman; I would have definitely chosen to participate in it, and I think this will help Harker students to become even more well-rounded and amazing. The skills that will be taught and learned through the BEP could be applied to any of the other extracurricular activities that Harker offers. For example, a highly involved theater student could participate in the program and learn to start his or her own theater company. I’m really excited to hear that Harker is expanding its educational program.”