Every year, DECA goes to the District Development Conference for Northern California in San Ramon. This year, however, DECA members traveled to San Jose from Jan. 4 to Jan. 6 for the same event. This change was a result of Silicon Valley DECA’s decision to host a conference separate from San Ramon’s where all business events remained the same, but all the students who attended were strictly from the Silicon Valley area.

According to sophomore and third place winner of the event Hospitality Team Decision Making (HTDM) Anika Krishnan, competing in a different location made a significant difference.

“More of us knew each other and it enhanced the experience on a business and social standpoint,” Krishnan said.

Most of the competitors stayed overnight at the San Jose Marriott Hotel, but MVHS students stayed at the Hilton Hotel located across the street due to the large number of members who attended.

According to DECA Vice President of Technology senior Apurv Gandhi, MVHS won 75 percent of the first place titles awarded at the conference.

“The competitors worked really hard to bring home these awards,” Gandhi said. “But this isn’t the end of the competition. It’s only the beginning.”