State Officer Biographies

Shruti Thundiyil
State President

As a senior at Foothill High School, this is Shruti Thundiyil’s second year in DECA. Due to her continued passion and dedication, Shruti stepped up and became the Chief Operations Officer and Chapter Awards Program Manager in her chapter her first year. Last year, she placed Top 8 in her district as well as 3rd at the state level for the Entrepreneurship Written Plan. Through various activities in her chapter, Shruti was able to increase membership, something that she plans to carry over to the state level. As the 2011-2012 California DECA State President, Shruti has many creative ideas in order to connect with members and unify both the chapters and the districts even more.

Awarded Most Inspirational Person by her swim team, Shruti has the drive and power to bring people together. She is also a very active member in her town as seen through her dedication to volunteering weekly at a local hospital. According to her family and friends, the easiest way to spot Shruti in a busy crowd is to simply look for the girl with a camera constantly slung around her neck! Her love for photography and art has been recognized in the internationally-acclaimed Photoshop magazine, Advanced Creation.

Shruti is extremely grateful for the immense and continuous support from her family, friends, and most importantly, her advisor, Tami Raaker. As your State President this year, Shruti is excited to work with her fellow state officers and you to continue leading California DECA on a path of excellence!

Jose Romero
Vice President of Chapter Development

Jose Romero started his DECA career in his junior year as a member of Arroyo High School’s Eden Area ROP; class of 2012. As the Vice President of Chapter Development he will work diligently to reach out to schools, chapters and members to help expand existing DECA chapters and develop new ones throughout California. Jose is proud to be the first state officer ever from the Eden Area ROP.

Jose’s journey towards DECA began the moment he became part of the Tech-Links Academy at Arroyo his freshmen year. He has taken business-oriented classes since then and they paid off. In Jose’s junior year he became a DECA member and attended his first leadership conference in 2010. He was amazed with what DECA had to offer its members and his experience at this conference inspired him to run for state office. That same year he placed 3rd in his event, Principals in Business Management, at the Nor Cal Career Development Conference, and has truly shown what he is capable as a leader within his chapter.

Aside from DECA, Jose runs cross country at Arroyo High School, which has taught him to push himself and those around him. He also enjoys listening to music, hanging out with his friends, airsoft, and going to the gym.

Jose looks forward to working with chapters throughout California and with the help of his fantastic officer team, make the 2011-2012 DECA year an unforgettable one!!!

Priyanka Saha
Vice President of Northern District

Priyanka Saha has been a member of her school’s DECA chapter since freshman year and has grown to love being a part of the program! Currently, she attends Amador Valley High School and is a part of the class of 2013. Priyanka has had experience at numerous DECA conferences, placing at the Nor Cal Career Development Conference (CDC), State CDC, and competing at the International CDC. She believes that all of her DECA experience and the leadership skills she gained from them will serve her well as a state officer.

Apart from DECA, Priyanka enjoys many other extracurricular activities such as being a part of her school’s marching band, participating and leading numerous clubs, volunteering at her local hospital and food kitchen, and playing the piano and flute. She keeps up a balance of fun in her life while still making sure that all of her work gets done, and done well. By keeping up this attitude, Priyanka promises to make her time as a state officer enjoyable and productive, benefiting everyone.

Priyanka’s past leadership experience in numerous activities as well as her passion and dedication to DECA will assist her well as a state officer. Her main goal as Vice President of Northern California is to incorporate each individual chapter into one large, connected network. She wants to make surethat every single member gets the most out of their DECA experience and will do everything she can to make this goal a reality. Priyanka excitedly looks forward to serving as your Vice President of Northern California for the next year and promises to put her all into the job to ensure an exciting year with California DECA!

Geena Dai
Vice President of Southern District

Geena Dai is currently a junior at Rancho Bernardo High School and a member of the class of 2013. She has been in DECA for three years, having first joined during her freshman year. Having previously served a term as California DECA’s Vice President of Civic Consciousness, Geena is more than excited to represent Southern California.  She has helped start multiple chapters in Southern California, and hopes to continue to expand and share the DECA experience with new chapters. Geena also has a passion for competition, and has qualified twice for the International Career Development Conference.

Geena leads a highly challenging school life with a rigorous schedule, and is currently taking six Advanced Placement courses. She also serves as president of Rancho Bernardo High School’s We the People, and is an avid Science Olympiad member. Outside of school, Geena participates in the Junior Chamber of Commerce and is actively involved in volunteering and in serving her community. Geena also prides herself as an amateur artist as well as having her own clothing start-up business.

In her free time, you can often find Geena drawing, writing, listening to music, or pigging out with a tub of ice cream in her hands (preferably cookies and cream). She also has an enthusiasm for shopping, Youtube, and sushi. Above all, she enjoys spending time with the most important people in her life, her friends and family.

With the utmost enthusiasm, Geena is more than thrilled to serve as Vice President of Southern California, and holds high hopes for the 2011-2012 DECA year, knowing that it will be one to remember.

Siyang Qiu
Vice President of Public Relations

Siyang Qiu proudly serves as your 2011-2012 Vice President of Public Relations. His DECA journey began when he was a freshman and he has been an enthusiastic DECA member ever since. Now a senior, Siyang has been in DECA for three years. In those three years, he has had an officer position in Foothill DECA, his local chapter, and has placed in competition numerous times, including 1st at the Nor Cal Career Development Conference (CDC) and 2nd at the State CDC in is event. Last year, Siyang decided to take a step further and become a state officer so he can help make California DECA even greater.

Outside of DECA, Siyang participates in various activities such as running and studying Latin. He runs for Foothill’s Track and Cross Country teams. Although Cross Country and Track are often viewed of as individual sports, they very much team sports as well. Through these sports, he has gained experience in working in a team, pushing each member to do his best, and working towards a common goal. To satisfy his intellectual side, Siyang studies Latin. To promote Latin and to help other students master this difficult language, Siyang created a website and became an officer for the Foothill Latin Club.

Siyang looks forward to serving as your Vice President of Public Relations. He will do everything he can to make this year the best one yet.

Sri Muppidi
Vice President of Civic Consciousness

Sri Muppidi is currently a junior at Amador Valley High School. Joining DECA as a freshman, Sri has been an enthusiastic and active member ever since. Her DECA experience has been truly phenomenal, enabling her to create long-lasting memories, celebrate deserving victories, and form life-long networks. Because of her love for DECA, she is extremely excited to serve as your 2011-2012 California DECA Vice President of Civic Consciousness. She aims to create an unforgettable year for California DECA.

Aside from DECA, Sri has a strong involvement in her community and a passion for volunteering. Currently, Sri is the treasurer of her school’s Human Rights Club. She has been the publicity coordinator of VT Seva, a non-profit organization that aims to help the underprivileged throughout the world, and the secretary for her school’s California Scholarship Federation (CSF). Additionally, she is an active Girl Scout and keenly participates in the UNICEF program at her school.

Along with her passion for DECA and volunteering, Sri enjoys music, playing the clarinet in her school’s marching and concert bands. Sri also tutors students in her neighborhood. However in her free time, Sri loves spending time with her friends and family, reading for hours, watching cheesy romantic comedies, eating fudgy brownies, and obsessing over Harry Potter.

With the support of her friends, family, and chapter advisor, Ms. Laurie Andrews, Sri hopes looks forward to an amazing year for California DECA and hopes to make DECA an even more memorable experience.