In late October, about forty members of DECA, a club here on campus, competed in Minicon at Foothill High. Minicon is a practice conference hosted by individual DECA chapters to help first year members prepare for larger, official competitions such as NorCal and State. These events typically include a times role-playing scenario and a written exam, similar to the environment of a full DECA competition.

The actual DECA competition (Norcal and State) consists of events that involve written projects, presentations, and exams. They cover various topics like entrepreneurship, marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. Minicon is an opportunity for first year members to learn what to expect and what to prepare for at Norcal and State. 

Aanya Patel (12), the VP of Operations, was in charge of preparing the students for Minicon.

“I prepared [students] by creating a calendar and listing all the events leading up to the conference. On each day a group would have to come in and do a roleplay practice. Then the following week there was a practice exam,” said Patel.

One of the presidents, Ananya Garg (11), attended the conference with the competing members.

“We did really well as a chapter. We had 11 people place in the top ten and had over forty members participate this year. It was great to see how much our chapter has grown in the past year,” (Garg). 

Kashvi Jain (11) placed 4th with her partner Krisha Chopra (11).

“I honestly didn’t really prepare for the minicon. I just wanted to use the event as an opportunity to gain exposure on what DECA events are really like” (Jain). 

She described how it felt when they were called up to the stage.

“It was so shocking to win as I didn’t expect [it]. I felt that I did really well on my roleplay as I’m pretty good at talking but I didn’t think I did that well on the exam. My partner and I were very shocked to see ourselves place and I am very proud of how we did,” (Jain). 

Minicon was a chance for DECA members to gain experience, build confidence. And see firsthand what larger competitions like NorCal and State will demand. With over forty students participating and eleven placing in the top ten, the chapter’s growth and talent was on full display. Successes like Kashvi Jain (11) and Krisha Chopra (11) placing fourth, even with minimal preparation, show the value of experience and exposure. 

Due to the planning of VP of Operations Aanya Patel (12) and the support of the chapter’s leadership, students were able to practice their skills and feel prepared for future events. As the chapter looks ahead to NorCal, members are prepared to apply what they learned at Minicon to the next level of competition.