From Jan. 9-11, members of DECA — formerly an acronym for the Distributive Education Clubs of America — scored high at the Silicon Valley District Development Conference. There, they competed in specific events related to one of four business fields: marketing, finance, entrepreneurship, and hospitality. The events in each category included proctored exams, judged role-play scenarios, or delivering a presentation on a prepared paper to a judge. Of the 24 Burlingame students who attended, eight placed in the top ten of their respective events.
Among those who placed in their category were juniors and board members Ally Morris and Julia Warner. Morris said placing in the top ten gave her confidence in her skills, something she said she will bring to upcoming competitions.
“Going up on that stage was really empowering, and it made me feel a greater sense of confidence,” Morris said. “I feel more sure of my capabilities now after using them in a real conference setting.”
As participants of the Financial Services Team Decision Making Event, Morris and Warner individually took exams on the broader topic of finance before working together as a team to perform the role-play.
“The role-play is something really unique to DECA and just something you definitely don’t get to do every day,” Morris said. “It really forces you to think on the spot and problem solve, which I think are really valuable skills.”
To prepare for the conference, the club practiced group role-plays and hosted a mock conference in November 2025 with Hillsdale and Aragon High School. This year, DECA treasurer and senior Abby Gorin attended the conference for the first time, and she said the mock conference helped her experience firsthand the environment of a real conference.
“It was really good for professionalism,” Gorin said. “Really good to see how I would act in that kind of situation, because it’s very on demand.”
Senior Anya Malhotra co-founded the club in 2024 after managing the Youth Business Club, and currently serves as president. She said she was searching for a space to share her ideas and receive feedback from professionals in the business world, which inspired her to launch a DECA chapter at Burlingame.
“DECA serves as a business community for any person in any grade with any background,” Malhotra said. “We want to create a community where people can bounce ideas off of each other and hear different perspectives.”
According to Malhotra, the club has tripled its size since last year. Among those new members is sophomore Zackary Sanchez, who said he already feels connected to the community DECA offers.
“You’re always learning something new. You’re always integrating more into the community,” Sanchez said. “You’re meeting new people, you’re learning new principles. You’re getting better at communication, you’re getting better at public speaking, you’re getting better at pretty much everything that’s in a business or formal environment.”
