Upwards of 3,000 students point their eyes toward the stage at the front of the Irving Convention Center as junior Yuktha Pemmasani delivers her campaign speech for president of District 7 of the Distributive Education Clubs of America. This is Pemmasani’s third year being in DECA.

Over spring break, Pemmasani and other qualifying DECA members competed at a state competition in Dallas. Pemmasani was a state finalist at the Texas DECA State Career Development Conference. 

“Last year, when we were at the district competition, I saw the other candidates running,” Pemmasani said. “I thought it seemed like a really great opportunity to get more leadership experience and meet new people.”

Since Pemmasani joined DECA in her freshman year, she has impressed her peers and advisers with her skills in competition. The club sponsor, Michael Foster, has worked with Pemmasani for the past three years and supported her in any way he can.

“How did I help her? By signing my name where it says ‘adviser,’” Foster said. “She’s very self-motivated, so she did a lot of this on her own. I helped by giving her advice, like when she did her speech. The day before, I asked if she needed help, but she already had it all taken care of. She takes a lot of initiative.”

District 7 is one of the largest DECA districts in the US, so Pemmasani faced challenges in leading the constantly growing district. Pemmasani has already put thought into her plan for District 7 next year.

“I want to focus a lot on the community,” Pemmasani said. “Because District 7 is so big, and there are so many new people moving in, so I want to work on getting people used to Texas and building a bigger and stronger community. (Those) are my main goals.”

The DECA chapter president, senior Akil Dondapati, said it is  encouraging to see the progress this chapter has made since he started it a few years ago.

“I think it’s really great, especially (since I) started off as the only member of our DECA chapter a few years ago,” Dondapati said. “And, to see there are now over 100 members and over 25 state qualifiers. Now, we have our own District 7 president presiding over 3,000 people in the most competitive district probably in the US. I think that’s something we should all be proud of.”

The presidents of the various chapters within District 7 vote on who they think would be the best candidate for president. 

“The theme of my campaign was the main thing that stood out compared to my peers,” Pemmasani said. “I chose to have a ‘Bachelor’ theme, which I think was really outside of the box.”

Next year, Pemmasani will be finishing her senior year at Walnut Grove High School. She plans to continue her DECA career there.

“I was definitely excited to see Prosper represented at that magnitude,” Foster said. “I’m disappointed she’s leaving us, so that’s the one part I don’t like. She deserves it. She’s worked her tail off, (and) I wish her the best of luck.”