MSJ DECA Sweeps at SVCDC with 80 Top Awards

By Staff Writers Jessica Cao & Michael Qin

Carpeted hallways buzzed with nervous energy as students in blazers clutched laptops and rehearsed presentations under their breath. For many, it is their first time at a DECA conference, while others consider the annual district competition as a return to the familiar pressure. From January 9 to 11, more than a thousand students from 14 high schools across the Bay Area gathered at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel for the Silicon Valley Career Development Conference (SVCDC). The conference challenged students to step into the roles of entrepreneurs, managers, and financiers by competing in cluster exams, roleplays, and written presentations.

As part of the organization, students may campaign for district-wide leadership roles in DECA Silicon Valley, which serve to link local chapters to state leadership and promote recruitment and resource access. During the opening ceremony, MSJ DECA Director of Education Junior Owen Tsai delivered a speech as part of his candidacy for the district’s Vice President role. Though Tsai was eliminated during preliminary voting, he found the overall experience as the only MSJ representative to be very fulfilling. “I met so many amazing people who came up to my booth,” Tsai said. “Now, I’m really good friends with all of the people I was running against. I think this was an amazing opportunity that really encapsulates [what] DECA [is].” 

Although district-level conferences do not qualify competitors for state conferences, attendance is a prerequisite and a valuable opportunity for students to practice and refine their abilities. Months before, Wednesday workshops and Entrepreneurship elective classes guided members through the strategies, roleplay frameworks, and presentation skills needed to excel at DECA conferences. This year, MSJ DECA’s leadership team emphasized collaboration and mentorship. Curated feedback sessions allowed experienced members to provide advice and workshops were tailored to align specifically with DECA competitions. What set 2026 apart was change and growth — both in size and opportunity. “I think [it’s] one of the first years we have such a large membership because of newly opened entrepreneurship classes, and we have freshmen [competing] for the very first time [in two years],” Vice President of Operations Senior Avni Goyal said.

On the first day of SVCDC, competitors completed exams that focused on different career clusters — such as entrepreneurship, marketing, or finance — which partially accounted for their roleplay and written collective scores. Day two consisted of written presentations and roleplay events, where competitors assumed a corporate role and were graded on fluency, creativity, and effectively addressing performance indicators. Written presentations, on the other hand, focused more on research and thorough preparation, requiring competitors to develop detailed proposals prior to the conference. Students were evaluated on their ability to effectively justify and present decisions with data, market analyses, and financial projections. “I think my speaking skills and especially my presentation skills, as well as thinking on the spot, [greatly improved]. Because of role plays, I was also able to learn about [a lot of technicalities] of finance in general,” Sophomore Arav Singh said.

Ultimately, MSJ DECA students took home 80 top-ten placements across more than 30 events, including three first-place, seven second-place, and nine third-place finishes — marking a successful conclusion to the conference. Despite high achievements in their respective events, many MSJ competitors aspire for further improvement. Junior Matthew Wang placed first in the Marketing Management Team Decision Making roleplay event where he was tasked to set prices in a market economy. “I think at this conference, some of my numbers might have been off and next time, [I will focus] on technical information,” Wang said. 

Looking ahead, MSJ DECA competitors have two more conferences this year: the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) at Anaheim, CA and the International Career Development Conference (ICDC)  in Atlanta, GA. “I still think one thing our chapter needs to work on is better test scores, […] but overall, our entire chapter is doing a great job in supporting each other,” advisor Bellamy Liu said.