Ranasaria and Majjigapu Elected as DECA State Officers!

Photo provided by Arushi Ranasaria and Rashmi Majjigapu.

On March 12, 2020, the Hamilton High School chapter of DECA attended the Grand Awards Ceremony at the State Career Development Conference (SCDC). DECA, or Distributive Education Clubs of America, is an organization with the goal of preparing “emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in high schools and colleges around the globe” (DECA.org). The Hamilton chapter of DECA traveled to Lake Geneva for the SCDC, which was held from Tuesday, March 10, to Thursday, March 12. It was there that Hamilton juniors Arushi Ranasaria and Rashmi Majjigapu were elected as DECA State Officers.

Before the SCDC, however, there was a long road of preparation and hard work that Arushi and Rashmi followed. Both have been dedicated to DECA for almost 3 years. Rashmi stated, “We have been very committed to DECA since freshman year. I love every second of planning events, community service, competition, and conferences.” Both Arushi and Rashmi knew from early on that they wanted to accomplish big things in DECA. Arushi commented that she and Rashmi “are those over-achieving kids who kind of ‘do everything.’ In DECA, we have both put in a LOT of time and effort.” Their commitment began to pay off in great ways. Rashmi became Hamilton DECA’s Vice President of Event Management her sophomore year, and this year she was the Vice President of Brand Management. Arushi also made significant achievements throughout her high school DECA experience, all leading up to this year’s State Career Development Conference.

However, two major steps needed to be completed before the conference in order to become State Officers.

Before the SCDC, Rashmi and Arushi each had to first create a portfolio which is, according to Arushi, “a creative resume that is a holistic view of you as a student, DECA member, leader, professional, and community member. It took a very long time to create for both of us.” After this, Arushi and Rasmi had to participate in a second step to becoming State Officers: screening. Arushi described the screening as, “a day with group activities, an interview, group interviews, group tests, and individual tests. This is to judge your leadership and interpersonal skills and to see if your personality is right for the position.” After creating portfolios and attending the screening process, it was time for the third and final step to becoming State Officers: the State Career Development Conference.

According to WIDECA.org, every March there are over 1,000 DECA members, students, and advisors from Wisconsin who attend the SCDC in Lake Geneva. To compete at the conference, students need to have done well at the District level in January. Hamilton DECA traveled to the three-day State Career Development Conference this spring, where Rashmi and Arushi competed to become state officers.

The first day of the conference included speeches and interviews for the election. Arushi described the first day of the SCDC as consisting of “two speeches and questioning period. One speech is to a voting delegation of about 70 high school Wisconsin DECA members. We have to talk about our qualifications and our plans for the state. The other speech is to a Board of DECA professionals and alumni. After both speeches, the groups ask us questions and then place their votes. Then we find out if we are elected 2 days later.” Rashmi added that, “the election process is very thorough and demanding… I put many hours into developing my application and preparing for interviews while still balancing school and other activities.”

Finally, the last day of the conference arrived. The Grand Awards Ceremony was held on this day, where Arushi and Rashmi were announced as Wisconsin’s newly elected DECA Officers. Rashmi said, “Hearing my name called felt so surreal but was one of the happiest moments of my life. When Arushi’s name was called I remember walking back to hug her and walking to the stage together. We had started our DECA journeys together as freshmen, and now we were walking on stage to be state officers. We had aspired to be elected as state officers ever since freshman year, and after lots of hard work, it became a reality. The feeling was indescribable. I remember so many of our friends crying happy tears and swarming up to congratulate us. Our moms had come to support us that day, and both of them were extremely proud and happy because they knew how much this meant to us. Our advisor, Mrs. Fields was in tears as she told us how proud of us she was.”

Photo provided by Arushi Ranasaria and Rashmi Majjigapu.

Now State Officers, Arushi and Rashmi have a lot of big responsibilities and hard work ahead of them, but that is nothing that they aren’t used to. Arushi said, “As state officers, we represent 11,000 Wisconsin DECA members. We have a wide range of duties throughout the year, and it varies depending on our position. However, our major duties include planning conferences, developing initiatives to enhance Wisconsin DECA, connecting with sponsors, and more! I personally love being able to connect with members across the state and other state officers around the country!” Along with the two of them, there are 4 other State Officers. Arushi commented that the six of them “are all very close friends. I am so excited to be working alongside such talented, amazing people and I cannot wait to see what this year brings.” Rashmi said that despite all of the very hard work that was required to become a State Officer, “the process was very rewarding and I feel that I’ve grown professionally and personally from the experience.”

Rashmi and Arushi’s dedication and hard work have led them to many exceptional achievements, and now as State Officers, there are many more successes to come in high school and beyond. Make sure to give your congratulations to these incredibly devoted and driven DECA State Officers!