Margaret Wong
WHS DECA
Dhruvangi Shah
Dhruvangi Shah graduated from Washington High School as part of the class of 2014. She served as the Public Relations Commissioner and founding member of DECA in 2012 and was the first WHS DECA member to go to ICDC . Dhruvangi currently works in finance after graduating from UC Berkeley with a bachelor's in Business Administration in 2018.
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"Being part of DECA was an incredible part of my high school experience and one of my fondest memories. DECA provided me exposure to the various different facets of the business industry and a platform to think about practical solutions for everyday business problems. Through this organization, I was able to develop presentation and leadership skills that I still use today. The people that I have met through DECA are creative, intelligent, and supportive and I have learned so much by just being a part of the community. DECA definitely served as the starting point of my career and I will always be grateful for everything that I have learned and the people I met through this organization."Nishtha Bhatia
Nishtha Bhatia graduated from Washington High School as part of the class of 2015. She served as the 2014-2015 DECA President and the 2013-2014 Secretary. She currently works at Google after graduating from Stanford University with a Masters and Bachelors in Computer Science in 2019.
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"DECA gave me a platform to explore my entrepreneurial interests in a way that the theoretical classes I took in High School didn’t. It taught me how to work in a team, and how to get things done by working with other people. DECA is what made me realize that I was excited by the intersection of psychology, technology, and business, and that there were actually careers out there that let me combine all three. Above all, DECA was just one of the best parts of my time in high school."Anirudh Veeraragavan
Anirudh Veeraragavan graduated from Washington High School as part of the class of 2016. He served as the 2015-2016 President and 2014-2015 treasurer for WHS DECA. He graduated from the University of California Los Angeles with a major in computer science in 2020.
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""DECA was an important part of my high school experience, and throughout the four years I spent with the organization, I had access to many opportunities that enabled me to grow as a student and aspiring business professional. While I did choose to not pursue business as a career, I still carry many of the learnings with me today. Beyond the opportunity to learn practical business knowledge, DECA also enabled me to engage in leadership activities, collaborate with my fellow peers, and make memories that I'll always look fondly upon. WHS DECA has grown exponentially since I joined during its inaugural year, and I'm excited to see just how far it continues to go."Kristen Berling
Kristen Berling graduated from Washington High School as part of the class of 2016. She served as the 2015-2016 Director of Marketing Core for WHS DECA. She graduated from Santa Clara University with a major in business in 2020.
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"DECA is the reason I decided to study business in college. It helped me find something I was good at and enjoyed doing. It introduced me to a world of new friends, new experiences, and new skills that I know I will carry with me throughout my college career and the rest of my life."Dishant Pujara
Dishant Pujara graduated from Washington High School as part of the class of 2016. He served as the 2015-2016 Vice President of Membership for WHS DECA. He graduated from the University of California Davis with a major in Computer Science in 2020.
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"Out of all the high school experiences that impacted me, DECA was by far the most influential. Beyond just being a student organization to get involved in, it gave us examples real business world problems which we would learn to understand and create a solution for. Also, we were able to reach out to actual representatives from businesses, giving us connections that could be beneficial to us in the future. Along with all of the business experiences, I developed a lifelong connection to the world of business that will impact every decision I make in my own career."Moksh Jawa
Moksh Jawa graduated from Washington High School as part of the class of 2017. He served as the 2015-2016 Vice President of Communications and 2016-2017 California DECA state president. He has always found DECA a huge highlight of his high school career, and hopes to return whenever he can. Additionally, he has written his own class and textbook teaching others about computer science. He currently studies Management and Technology and is the class president at the University of Pennsylvania. He always says that he would not be where he is today if he had not joined DECA his freshman year.
Sai Atmakuri
Sai Atmakuri graduated from Washington High School as part of the class of 2017. He served as the 2016-2017 WHS DECA president and the 2015-2016 director of technology. He currently studies Computer Science at University of California Los Angeles.
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"DECA was an integral part of my high school experience. It has awarded me many fond memories, lifelong friendships, and professional skills. Moreover, it helped me grow as an individual and ignited a passion for helping small businesses. As a result, when I went to college, it motivated me to found a pro-bono consulting organization focused on empowering small businesses and startups. Although in the future, I'll be pursuing a career in tech, the problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills I have gained through DECA have proved to be continuously fruitful in my career."Mihira Patel
Mihira Patel graduated from Washington High School in 2018 and was a part of DECA for all 4 years. She served as Director of Management Core in 2015-2016, VP of Leadership in 2016-2017, and the Norcal DAT VP of Leadership in 2017-2018. Mihira was the first WHS DECA member to win two glasses (both first place) at a conference and win glass at internationals (first place) for WHS DECA. She is currently studying computer science at UC Berkeley. DECA allowed her to develop her professional skills like public speaking and leadership and create lifelong friendships. She was also able to co-found SheEO, an organization aimed at closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship and technology. She still uses the knowledge and network she gained from DECA and will continue to use them throughout college and beyond. DECA was the highlight of Mihira's time in highschool and she's excited to see how WHS DECA keeps growing!
Zuhair Imaduddin
