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2023-2024 California DECA State Officer Team

Diya Jain

State President

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Diya Jain is a senior at The Quarry Lane School and is thrilled to be serving as your California DECA State President!

Diya became involved with DECA in her freshman year and instantly fell in love with the amazing opportunities and community DECA offers for members. Through her participation in DECA, Diya has learned the importance of persistence, hard work, and passion. DECA has given her a place where she can be herself and has shaped her into the individual she is today. Diya is actively involved with her school’s DECA chapter and has served as a three-time chapter officer, working on supporting and growing Quarry Lane DECA. 

In her junior year, Diya had the honor of serving on California DECA’s Team 73 as the Vice President of Leadership. This position allowed her to strengthen her leadership and professional skills, mentor students in their DECA journeys, and meet many people who have inspired her from across the country. Diya is eternally grateful for all the memories and connections she has made in DECA in the past three years!

Outside of DECA, Diya has been involved with her school’s Student Council for the past three years. She leads school-wide events such as pep rallies and planning spirit weeks. In her free time, Diya enjoys dancing, watching movies, and spending time with her friends and family.

Diya is grateful for the support she received throughout her DECA journey from her chapter advisors, family, friends, and the California DECA community. Diya is excited to serve as Team 74’s State President and is ready for an amazing year!

Aum Patel

VP of Silicon Valley

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Aum is a senior at Basis Independent Silicon Valley High School and is excited to be serving as your Vice President of Silicon Valley. Aum joined DECA in his freshman year, not because of the opportunities or competitions but because his friends pushed him to. 

After not placing in his roleplay event in his freshman year, Aum qualified for ICDC in his subsequent sophomore and junior years. He fell in love with DECA in his sophomore year during ICDC. His most memorable experience at ICDC was going to the hotel pool after the grand awards and celebrating with all the glass winners, even though he didn’t win. Through competing in a written event at ICDC Aum learned the valuable skills of planning, organization, and hard work. 

In his junior year, he served as his chapter’s Vice President of Marketing. This role allowed him to participate in events like DECA month where he was able to exercise his creativity creating different and entertaining social media posts. Aum, wanting to do more in DECA and take a greater leadership role, decided to run for a state officer position. To his surprise, he won! 

Outside of DECA, Aum is a Boy Scout who loves the outdoors and traveling. He founded his school’s South Asian Association Club which hosts cultural events and raises cultural awareness. He loves trying new foods but is always happy with a bowl from Chipotle. Aum loves listening to music especially but not limited to R&B, Indie, Hip Hop, and Rap. 

Aum is extremely grateful to Silicon Valley DECA for choosing him to represent them. He also is thankful for his Chapter and his amazing advisor Ms. Silva. Aum is very excited to serve California DECA and work with his fellow state officers to make California DECA even better!

Aaditya (AJ) Jain

VP of Leadership

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Meet Aaditya Jain, a senior at Lynbrook High School, affectionately known as AJ. Excitedly stepping into the role of Vice-President of Leadership for the 2024-2025 school year, AJ aims to enhance membership, offer enhanced leadership development resources, and foster stronger ties with chapters, particularly within Silicon Valley.

Having been a DECA member since freshman year, AJ’s dedication shone through, even participating as a non-CTE member initially. Throughout the past year, AJ’s achievements include qualifying for ICDC three times, notably clinching first place in the Deca at The Bell corporate challenge.

With aspirations to delve into the realms of business or international relations, AJ envisions pursuing studies either within the state or on the East Coast, with post-collegiate dreams of becoming a diplomat or entering the consulting field.

Recognizing DECA as an invaluable opportunity for personal and professional growth, AJ emphasizes its role in honing public speaking, critical thinking, collaboration, and empathy skills. Advocating for making the most of this enriching experience, AJ welcomes inquiries and offers assistance to anyone in need.

Rayyan Darugar

VP of Southern California

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Rayyan Darugar is a Senior at Del Norte High School and is honored to serve as

your 2024-25 California DECA Vice President of Southern California. Rayyan loves

the experiences and opportunities that DECA brings, and is extremely excited to be

sharing them with more people over his term.

Rayyan first became a member of his school’s DECA chapter in his Sophomore year.

Since then, he has placed at both the district and international levels, winning 3rd

in ETDM at SoCal’s districts and placing at both WRLC and DECA Power Trip.

In his junior year, he served as Del Norte DECA’s Vice President of External

Operations. During his term, he helped to connect DNHS with other schools, foster

MiniCon collaboration, engage in Chapter Outreach, and raise funds. Rayyan

worked to boost his school’s DECA Chapter competitively and organizationally.

Outside of DECA, Rayyan is involved with many organizations on campus. He’s

currently serving as the Vice President of Business in his school’s Robotics team and

is excited to serve as Del Norte’s Senior Class President. In his free time, Rayyan

enjoys going to the gym, watching Suits with his family, traveling to new countries,

and making new friends. In college, Rayyan hopes to pursue Business and Computer

Science, aiming to one day start a company in the tech industry.

Rayyan wants to thank Mr. Buxton, his chapter advisor, as well as his family, friends,

and mentors for supporting him throughout his DECA journey. Rayyan can’t wait to

help make SoCal DECA its best!

Ella Min

VP of Northern California

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Ella is a junior of Amador Valley High School and is so excited to be serving as your California DECA Vice President of Northern California this year!

Ella became involved in DECA her freshman year doing Amador’s Business Academy program. From then, she has developed a passion for entrepreneurship and was amazed by the incredible opportunities California DECA has to offer. DECA has taught her invaluable presentation and speaking skills. From then, she has met so many amazing people at mini-cons and conferences through DECA’s unparalleled network of alumni and competitors alike. She won glass at NorCal CDC and is an ICDC qualifier.

Outside of school, Ella does Lincoln Douglas debate and enjoys flying out over the weekends to compete at different tournaments all over the country. On other weekends, Ella enjoys skating with her team for Team USA. In her free time, she enjoys FaceTiming or hanging out with friends, eating good food, and going on runs.

In regards to her future career, Ella hopes to pursue pre-law in college with an orientation towards environmental policy and justice, and then become a lawyer in the future. She is grateful for the support she has received through her DECA journey from her chapter, friends, and family, and is thrilled for a great year with Team 74!

Bhavya Mehta

VP of Marketing

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Bhavya is a senior at Washington High School and is super excited to serve as your California DECA Vice President of Marketing this year. 

She joined DECA in her freshman year as a “DECApprentice”, excited to explore the nuances of the business world alongside her closest friends. As she continued on to be a DECA competitor her sophomore year, DECA helped her gain confidence, public speaking skills, and business knowledge to effectively communicate with others in a professional manner. It has given her countless amazing opportunities, whether that be networking with new people across the state and world or traveling to new places around the country. These have shaped her ideals and her future, and she hopes to share these experiences with others across California DECA as well. 

As a part of Washington DECA, Bhavya served as New Member Director her sophomore year and Vice President of Hospitality her junior year. In both these roles, she was in charge of leading weekly workshops for the club’s DECApprentices centered around the four clusters of business and soft skills. Working with these students and her officer team has helped her gain valuable experience in collaboration, communication, and marketing. Furthermore, Bhavya has experienced competitive success across her journey as a DECA member. In her sophomore year, she was able to qualify for ICDC through her role-play event, Principles of Business Management, and in her junior year, she qualified through her written event, Project Management Career Development, both events that combine her love of management, leadership, and creativity. 

Outside of DECA, Bhavya enjoys a vast amount of interests. She served as debate captain for her school’s Speech & Debate team her junior year, as well as the Secretary of her school’s Mock Trial club. In her free time, you can find her reading her favorite fantasy novels, binge-watching different sitcoms, going on frozen yogurt runs, or having fun with her friends. 

Bhavya is extremely grateful to her family, her friends, and alumni for having supported her throughout every aspect of her DECA journey. In particular, she would like to thank her advisor Mr.Wu for having given her amazing advice and support throughout all her endeavors, including her campaign for state office. Bhavya is beyond thrilled to serve as a California State Officer, and will work her hardest with Team 74 to help California DECA have an amazing year!

Alumni State Officers

Team 72: 2022 – 2023

Team 71: 2021 – 2022

Team 70: 2020 – 2021

Team 69: 2019 – 2020

Team 68: 2018 – 2019

Team 67: 2017 – 2018

Team 66: 2016 – 2017

Team 65: 2015 – 2016

Team 64: 2014 – 2015

Team 63: 2013 – 2014

Team 62: 2012 – 2013

Team 61: 2011 – 2012

Team 60: 2010 – 2011

Team 59: 2009 – 2010

Team 58: 2008 – 2009

Team 57: 2007 – 2008

Team 56: 2006– 2007

Team 55: 2005 – 2006

Team 54: 2004 – 2005

Team 53: 2003 – 2004

Team 52: 2002 – 2003

Team 51: 2001 – 2002

Running For State Office

Are you interested in making a difference in DECA, representing over 5,000 of your peers, and developing your professional skills? Do you want to achieve all of this while having fun and doing a little traveling? If you answered yes to both of these questions then you should definitely consider running for a position on California DECA’s State Officer Team. Read the State Officer Candidate Packet or contact a current state officer to learn more about how you can take advantage of the epic experience!

State Officer Candidate Documents

California DECA State Officer Candidate Guide 2023-2024

California DECA Knowledge Test Study Guide 2023-2024

California DECA Knowledge Test

Intent to Run Form

Candidate Application Form & Signature Pages Upload

CA DECA Executive Officer Candidacy Procedures 2023-2024

Request An Officer Visit