This past March at the California DECA State Career Development Conference, the 75th State Officer Team was sworn into office. The State Officer Team is entrusted with leading and representing the thousands of members in California DECA towards greatness in every area possible. This year, Team 75 aims to empower chapters, elevate DECA student leaders, and foster a statewide culture of connection and innovation. By offering support and engaging resources regularly, such as President’s Councils and chapter officer leadership training workshops to philanthropy campaigns and chapter outreach, we aim to make DECA more available in California high schools, impactful on its members, and effective in preparing future business leaders. In the next year, Team 75 hopes to leave a lasting effect on all CA DECA members, even beyond their own terms.
Ella Min | California DECA State President
As a rising Senior at Amador Valley High School, Ella Min has stepped up to the role of State President after serving as the VP of NorCal. Over the course of this role, she led the creation of an 18-week curriculum for California DECA’s 7,600+ members and chapters. This comprehensive guide covered not only roleplay prep and testing strategies but also an introduction to DECA’s core principles in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. This role also presented Ella with the challenge of adapting to varying team dynamics while working with two groups of officers. She says “we overcame this challenge by really dedicating time to team bonding and connecting on a personal level outside of DECA.” Overall, her favorite memory is representing California DECA at ICDC during the parade of flags ceremony and meeting officers from every corner of the globe while doing so.
Jaylyn Chong | California DECA Vice President of Leadership
Jaylyn Chong is a rising Senior at Valley Christian High School currently working towards increasing engagement and recognition throughout the state. One initiative she has already begun leading is bi-monthly blog posts on various California DECA-related events and topics. Jaylyn aims to increase the contributions of DAT officers as well in order to recognize individual districts, chapters, and its incredible members. Her best memory was connecting with members from all over the world and especially cheering on everyone from California DECA at ICDC. Jaylyn’s advice for emerging leaders is to truly connect with chapter advisors and members because she believes “understanding their needs and building a personal relationship beyond just being a DECA figure will allow you to leave a lasting impact.”
Shreshta Ramji | California DECA Vice President of Marketing
Shreshta Ramji is a rising junior at Lynbrook High School whose vlogs are connecting DECA members from all over the world. Her favorite memory was vlogging at ICDC in which she was able to include officers from more than twenty countries. Her experience as a state officer so far has provided her with the opportunity to develop skills applicable beyond competition. Her greatest difficulty was managing the workload of social media content coming up to ICDC along with her other commitments. Shreshta’s best advice to leaders is to be unafraid to reach out for help when becoming used to responsibilities. She believes that doing so “is a great way to demonstrate your commitment to details and dedication to helping your team.”
Chloe Fan | California DECA Vice President of Northern California
Chloe Fan is a rising senior at Amador Valley High School and reflects that her greatest challenge as a state officer so far is balancing the responsibility with other aspects of her life. She implements time management to handle her busy schedule and recommends to all leaders to be unafraid to say no to more than you can handle. Chloe believes “it’s a way to make sure that you deliver your best work and protect your well-being.” She also recommends growing leaders to speak up about their innovative ideas and perspectives in order to get the most rewarding experience in the California DECA community. Her best memory is getting to know the state officer team outside of formal events while traveling to Orlando together.
Samay Sikri | California DECA Vice President of Silicon Valley
Samay Sikri is a rising senior at Lynbrook High School whose most special memory is the shuttle ride to ICDC while interacting with the entire team and singing along to music. At ICDC, he faced significant issues with the tech during the California opening ceremony and worked through this problem with the team and hotel staff. Overall, he feels that his experience as a state officer is preparing him in various areas of professionalism including collaborating with executives and multi-faceted teams. Samay recommends all aspiring leaders to be confident and always put in your full effort because he believes that “effort matters much more than results.”
Robert Flores | California DECA Vice President of Southern California
Robert Flores is a rising junior at Martin Luther King High School who is working on the ongoing initiative of kickstarting a SoCal District Action Team. He intends for this team to help better support chapters and to boost competition in the region. He believes that his experience as a state officer is showing him the importance of accountability and proactivity. Robert believes that “remaining driven and continually striving for your goals are two keys to success” and recommends that all leaders implement this to enact positive change. His best memory as a state officer was the ICDC luncheon because he was able to connect with many other officers and taste all the amazing food.
Team 75 has already started guiding California towards success through their skills, dedication, and experience, and will continue to do so this year. Stay up-to-date with the state officer team on Instagram with @californiadeca.
By Rajvi Shah | NorCal DECA DAT Vice President of Leadership
