THE HARKER SCHOOL DECA CHAPTER WWW.HARKERDECA.ORG

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Harker DECA Celebrates DECA Month with Multiple Chapter Events!

San Jose, — Harker DECA celebrated DECA Month, or the month of November, this year with multiple chapter events to allow chapter members to bond with each other and excite members for the upcoming DECA competitive season.

Furthermore, Harker DECA also completed the #DECAMonth Social Media Challenge, posting daily on all our media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

MIDDLE SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT

On Monday, November 12th, three Harker DECA Officers and our advisor traveled to the Harker Middle School to announce the DECA Idea Challenge during a school meeting announcement. Students learned of the logistics of the challenge, the potential prizes involved, and the mystery item that they were required to incorporate, which, for the 2018-2019 DECA year, WAS paper clips! Interested students were given a chance to ask the DECA officers any questions that they had about the Idea challenge and DECA in general. A great opportunity to introduce entrepreneurship to prospective high school students, the Idea Challenge encouraged students to consider joining DECA in the future. The announcement left many students excited to explore entrepreneurship opportunities as they submit innovative proposals.

MOCK CONFERENCE AND ALUMNI PANEL

On Saturday, November 17th, Harker DECA hosted an intramural mock conference to provide students with an opportunity to gain experience and receive valuable feedback to better their knowledge and skills for the Conference. The Mock Conference was the perfect opportunity to actively engage in their skills and apply entrepreneurial thinking. By inviting industry professionals to act as judges, students were able to hear real- life experiences and lessons. Harker DECA also invited six Harker alumni on Friday, November 16th to speak about the knowledge that they acquired from DECA and how their experiences have helped them in real-life fields and their college lives. Focusing on their personal journeys with entrepreneurship, students were able to interact with previous members and ask them any questions that they may have about DECA and other business and entrepreneurship programs that Harker provides.

“The mock conference was an extremely interactive and engaging experience in which participants could receive feedback and advice from some of the best in the business on their roleplays and soft skills,” said Elvis Han (9) THE HARKER SCHOOL DECA CHAPTER WWW.HARKERDECA.ORG

BAGELS FOR BUSINESS

On Thursday, November 15th, Harker DECA handed out free bagels from Noah’s Bagels in front of Manzanita Hall, the school cafeteria, in the morning, along with other pamphlets about opportunities to become more involved in different entrepreneurship around the campus and in general. This event helped attract students who are not currently involved in Harker’s B&E programs, and many students were encouraged and inspired to explore and participate. Moreover, these bagels were a refreshing treat amongst a stressful weekend, contributing to Harker DECA’s purpose of improving our community and student well- being. All who attended the event left with a happy stomach and an eagerness to become more actively involved in business and entrepreneurship

ICE CREAM SOCIAL

On Friday, November 2nd, Harker DECA hosted an Ice Cream Social after school outside Manzanita Hall from 3-5 pm to mark the beginning of DECA Month. All students were free to drop by for free ice cream with unlimited toppings in order to refresh themselves and relax after a long day. Bringing all members of the community together, the Ice Cream Social allowed the DECA Officer Team to network with students and introduce some of the business and entrepreneurship programs that Harker offers.

“The Ice Cream Social this year really allowed for the Harker DECA community to bond,” said Anvitha Tummala, Director of Written Events. “It was great to see so many excited Harker DECA kids and was a lot of fun!”

YARD SALE

On Friday, November 9th, Harker DECA promoted DECA by providing the community with previous DECA merchandise and inciting excitement for the upcoming DECA year. Selling the vintage clothing offered an opportunity to recycle rather than waste while also fundraising for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Furthermore, the Yard Sale helped spread DECA’s brand image—after purchasing old sweatshirts and other clothing, students were often spotted wearing these items around campus. As a whole, this event allowed us to promote DECA in our Upper School community and help the students by providing lower priced, quality clothes.

"I bought a hoodie from the DECA yard sale for $8. I had a lot of fun and now I can rep my DECA merch,” said Devanshi Mehta (12). “It was a really smart way to earn revenue after last year’s season as well as get rid of excess quantities of merchandise. Go DECA!”

DECA LAUNCH

On Saturday, August 18th to Sunday, August 19th, over 65 students attended Harker DECA’s 5th annual DECA Launch, an event to introduce DECA to prospective members and to provide an overview of The Harker School’s Business, Economics and Entrepreneurship Department. Through alumni panels, detailed presentations, guest speakers, mock THE HARKER SCHOOL DECA CHAPTER WWW.HARKERDECA.ORG

tournaments and interactive activities, students received a realistic idea of the upcoming DECA year. Furthermore, DECA Launch also featured the Innovation Challenge, which invited participants to create an innovative solution to solve a real-world problems. The products that teams developed included a virtual fitting room app, climate change-solving oil drill, and Tinder for roommates, among many others. As a whole, DECA Launch succeeded in exciting students, especially new members, for the new year.

“Through the numerous activities that we have planned, DECA Launch provides a great opportunity for students to become familiar with not only DECA and the B&E Department but also the Upper School as a whole,” said Shania Wang, the Chief Executive Officer. “This year, we introduced a lot of new changes based on feedback from previous years, which allowed us to host the best possible event for all of the students. We also had the most attendees compared to previous years, so I’m excited and hopeful for a successful year.”

TEACHER THANK-YOU GIFTS

To show appreciation for the support from the faculty, Harker DECA individually thanked staff members by handing out customized travel / toiletries bags to every teacher and faculty member on The Harker School’s Upper School campus with a personalized note, which not only thanked teachers for their unending support but also explained what DECA is and encouraged them to chaperone. The small gift brought many smiles and joy to all those who received one and also reinforced the strong relationships that Harker DECA hopes to maintain with the school community.

RED CROSS

During lunch on Thursday, November 29th, Harker DECA partnered with Harker’s Red Cross Club on campus to assemble kits that held common toiletries, including toothbrushes, toothpaste, hand sanitizers, and stuffed animals to give to children from low-income families. DECA officers came together to initiate an effort to help those who are less fortunate, and the packages were donated to the Safe Kids Committee of Silicon Valley Red Cross to hand out. Everyone enjoyed this simple opportunity to make a big difference in the community.

VOLUNTEERING FOR THANKSGIVING

The Harker DECA Officer Team donated items, including ponchos, socks, water bottles, washcloths, and more for people in need to Haven to Home to give back to those who are less fortunate, allowing Harker DECA to make an impact on the community beyond the school and also fulfilling the community-oriented pillar for Harker. This was a great way to have fun while serving others and emphasized selflessness of leadership, especially in the times of need considering the recent California wildfires.

BASKETBALL KNOCKOUT (STUDENT V. FACULTY) THE HARKER SCHOOL DECA CHAPTER WWW.HARKERDECA.ORG

Harker DECA partnered with Harker Spirit to coordinate an Upper School wide knockout competition between the faculty and the students. Students were given the opportunity to represent their grades and play for spirit points as part of an ongoing competition between the classes. Furthermore, DECA sold Cream Ice Cream as part of our initiative to fundraise for MDA, Muscular Dystrophy Association.

To encourage more students to attend, Harker DECA’s PR Team promoted the event by posting on all our social media handles, including Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook. At school meetings, several officers of the Harker DECA team also announced this event and encouraged attendance among all grades by pinning flyers around the school advertising the event.

Although the basketball knockout competition was our largest event of DECA Month, throughout the week, Harker DECA also sold T-Pumps on Monday, November 25th, Wednesday, November 27th, and Friday, November 29th. Furthermore, Harker DECA sold Cream Ice Cream during our Student v. Faculty game and handed out free bagels on Tuesday, November 26th bagels on Thursday, November 28th, and Dippin’ Dots on Thursday, November 28th. Harker DECA was fundraising throughout the week and cumulatively earned a net profit of around $2500. All proceeds were donated to MDA, Muscular Dystrophy Association.

“Hosting a basketball knockout game was an amazing way for us to raise awareness for MDA,” said Anay Karwal (10). “Because our school community loves basketball, many students came out to play and watch, and we were able to talk about MDA’s mission and how they could help. Selling ice cream and bubble tea also allowed us to raise a lot of money, which will go towards muscular dystrophy research. As a whole, not only was the event an immense success, but we also were able to work for a good cause.”

About The Harker School DECA 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 in order to prepare the next generation to be academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible, and experienced leaders.

Contact Information To learn more about this story, please contact: Elaine Zhai, Director of Communications [email protected] www.harkerdeca.org