Leo is a senior at Amador Valley High School and is elated to be serving as your California DECA State President.

Leo became involved with his DECA chapter in freshman year. Since then, he has consistently placed at both the district and state level, qualifying for ICDC two times through his written and team decision making roleplay. Through Leo’s competitive experience in DECA, he has gained vital critical thinking and communication skills.

In his junior year, he served on the NorCal District Action Team as the Vice President of Finance. During his term, he judged/held workshops frequently at MiniCons, promoted district wide outreach through videos, and also managed the activities budget for NorCal CDC. Additionally, he has led his chapter as the Director of Business Academy where he coordinated workshops for members and is a vital part of chapter operations.

Outside of school, Leo is involved with his school’s Investment Club and was a part of his school’s robotics team. In his free time, Leo enjoys running as part of his school’s track and field team, traveling with his family, listening to music, exploring boba shops, and meeting new people.

As for his future endeavors, Leo hopes to pursue economics in college, potentially in a joint program with enrichment in the technological field. With all of his skills and ambition, Leo wants to create a meaningful impact on the world by creating resources and opportunities to empower others.

Above all, Leo is extremely thankful for his family, friends, and mentors who have helped him throughout his DECA journey. Leo is ecstatic to lead the state officer team to empower everyone in California DECA!

Diya Jain is a junior at Quarry Lane School and is excited to serve as your California DECA VP
of Leadership! Diya joined DECA her freshman year and was captivated by the opportunities DECA offered to connect with like-minded people and explore her passion for business.

Through her participation in DECA, Diya has learned the importance of persistence, hard work, and passion. DECA has given Diya 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 is currently serving as her chapter’s Vice President. In ninth grade, Diya served as her chapter’s Deputy of Hospitality, promoting a welcoming and collaborative environment within her school’s DECA chapter. In her sophomore year, Diya had the pleasure of serving as her chapter’s VP of
Leadership, gaining experience in planning conference logistics and organizing resources for
members. She worked closely with the school administration to push through new initiatives and
grow her school’s DECA chapter.

Outside of DECA, Diya is involved with her school’s ASB as a Spirit Officer. She leads school-wide events such as pep rallies and planning spirit weeks. In her free time, Diya enjoys dancing, coaching her local middle school’s color guard team, and spending time with her friends and family.Diya is grateful for the support she received throughout her DECA journey from her chapter advisors, fellow chapter members, friends, and family. Diya is thrilled to serve as Team 73’s VP of Leadership and looks forward to an amazing year!

Samaira is a senior at Amador Valley High School and is excited to serve as your California DECA Vice President of Marketing this year.
Samaira joined DECA during her Sophomore year, eager to explore the world of business, and she immediately felt at home in her school’s chapter. Starting during her first DECA workshop in her Sophomore year, Samaira was enamored by the many opportunities for growth, learning, and exploration that DECA provides. During her two years as a member, Samaira has developed a passion for business, networking, and travel. DECA has given Samaira friends and memories that will last a lifetime, and she aims to help provide these same opportunities for enrichment for future DECA members.
During her time as a DECA member, Samaira has served as the VP of Logistics for her schools chapter. As VP of Logistics she led a team of four to arrange transportation for conferences and manage all events hosted by her chapter. She has also experienced competitive success, qualifying for ICDC both years of her membership. Samaira has gained valuable experience in leadership, organization, marketing, and teamwork.
Outside of DECA, Samaira pursues her passions for fashion and business in tandem. She runs an Instagram clothing shop and is President of her school’s Fashion Club. She is also passionate about the environment. In her free time, Samaira loves to visit museums, sew, go to concerts, travel, and rewatch Gilmore Girls (strictly seasons 1-3). Samaira hopes to study Marketing and Economics in college.
Samaira is beyond grateful for the opportunity to serve as a California State Officer and would like to thank her parents, mentors, friends, and fellow chapter members for their continued support and encouragement. She is excited to work with the rest of Team 73 to make this year DECA’s best year!

Ruijia is a junior at Arroyo High School and is excited to serve as your California DECA Vice President of Northern California this year.

During Arroyo’s Club Rush Week in Ruijia’s virtual freshman year, they came across Arroyo DECA’s presentation on Zoom. Even though Ruijia didn’t fully excel in the virtual conferences with the AAM individual series event, it only increased their drive to create competitive success. When Ruijia became a sophomore, they found their main event, Human Resources Management- which joined their interest in psychology with business. As their passion for organizational psychology and human resources grew, they went from a budding competitor to the sole qualifier to ICDC from the San Lorenzo School District because of their vision and ambition. The last three years of DECA have taught Ruijia the importance of strong leadership and maintaining connections while still having lots of fun networking and meeting people across California!

After ICDC, Ruijia began their term as the VP of Career Development for the NorCal District Action Team, an opportunity they’re still beyond grateful for, as it pushed them to newer heights. With NorCal DAT, they met many talented NorCal competitors, spoke and judged at mini-conferences, and planned NorCal CDC 2023! At the same time, Ruijia also serves as the Vice President for Arroyo DECA and can often be seen organizing roleplays for their chapter members during prep.

Outside of DECA, Ruijia enjoys swimming and participates in their school’s CSF and Environmental Clubs. Additionally, they are active in their community by interning at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley and working as a swim instructor. In their free time: Ruijia likes to go thrifting with their friends, watch horror and thriller movies, and hang out with their cats.

Ruijia is beyond thankful for their family and all the NorCal members, alumni, and advisors that supported them through the years. In particular, they would like to thank their advisors: Ms. Charlton, Mr. Baughman, and Mr. Wu, for their advice and encouragement. Ruijia is honored to have the opportunity to lead NorCal DAT this year and give their support to all the capable NorCal chapters and members!

Emily is a sophomore at The Harker School in San Jose, California. She is beyond excited to serve as your Vice President of Silicon Valley this year. Emily has also served on her school officer team as the Director of Written Events, where she worked to connect members with local business leaders and boost competitive success. She joined DECA in her freshman year and competed in ICDC in the Start-Up Business Plan. Her most memorable DECA experience was serendipitously meeting the Alabama state officer team during ICDC 2022 and becoming friends with the current president of Alabama DECA. She still keeps in touch with her to this day! Meeting like-minded, driven people from all around the country is one of the main reasons Emily loves and advocates for DECA so much. It’s a truly invaluable experience. This year she is going to ICDC for Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making. Speaking of entrepreneurship, Emily loves business (big surprise!) and hopes to start her own company some day. Outside of DECA, she is also an athlete. She is on the varsity volleyball, basketball, and track and field team. Her favorite aspects of being a multi-sport athlete are meeting new people at school and working together as a team. Emily also enjoys painting and reading in her free time. She’s grateful for the support of her chapter advisor, Mr. Glass, and her mom in her DECA journey. Emily is so excited to be on this team and ready to get to work!

SJ Janolkar is a senior at Portola High School and is honored to be serving as your Vice President of Southern California DECA. The rush of adrenaline, the excitement of standing on stage, and the sense of accomplishment. SJ felt this at her first DECA competition in sophomore year after being pushed into it by her older brother. And quite frankly, her life has
never been the same. By becoming the President of Portola Business at her school, SJ gained friendships, memories and happiness. By being the CEO of Virtual Enterprise (a school based business), she gained networking skills, confidence and critical thinking. And by becoming the Vice President of Southern California, she will learn to lead. Through it all, SJ has enjoyed connecting with people within the organizations, seeing her friends grow along with her has been amazing. Outside of DECA, SJ loves to travel, whether it’s a simple walk to reconnect with nature or a 12 hour flight to Vietnam, she is always down to have fun. Also, in her free time she loves to do two things, hang out with friends or sleep. Some of her hobbies include playing video games, acting and cooking. SJ hopes to pursue a career in Business or Economics and wants to connect with other like minded individuals. She hopes to work with these students worldwide and learn to work together in order to pave the way for future generations through innovation, collaboration and hard work. In conclusion, SJ is excited to serve as your Southern California Vice President and hopes to work with the other officers to make DECA an even better experience.