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Mission San Jose High School

March 24, 2023

Leadership 2 hosts frst ever Sadie Hawkins Spring Fling Dance

By Waylon Li & Annie Xu Staff Writers

On March 16 from 6-9 p.m., Leadership 2 (L2) hosted its second ever Spring Fling. Themed “Night in Paris,” the event was MSJ’s first Sadie Hawkins dance in more than ten years, and featured activities such as table tennis and photobooths, performances from student groups, and amenities like food trucks and a student-run DJ.

Vines of fairy lights streamed across the field to a midnight-blue banner on the amphitheater, the words “Night in Paris” lit up by party stage lights that lined the front of the amphitheater.

As students trickled in, they were greeted with a variety of activity booths throughout campus.

From the wide selection of refreshments from food trucks and fundraisers to a Super Smash Bros. Brawl competition hosted by MSJ eSports, attendees had no shortage of events to engage in.

As the sun set, students flocked to the stage to watch Senior Brian Loh’s opening performance, to Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.” His enthusiastic vocals set the tone for MSJ COR Dance’s complex routine of elaborate formations and skillful body pops and locks. Their infectious energy carried over into L2 Boys’ dance, where their erratic and enthusiastic dance moves drew energetic cheers and reactions from the crowd. Finally, the student-run DJ formed a raging mosh pit that engulfed the front of the amphitheater, with students bouncing up and down to artists such as Playboi Carti, Baby Keem, Travis Scott, and more. “We haven’t had a student-run DJ in a while; we spent a lot of money on DJs in the past so I’m glad we are able to play music we want,” Senior Class Vice Presi- dent Adyant Patnaik said.

After- wards, the Michael Jackson Reboot came onstage to Michael

Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal - 2012 Remaster,” becoming an instant crowd favorite. Students burst into cheers as the performers hit the iconic lean, clapping along to the music’s beat. Sophomore Avin Kakare, who led the dance cover, returned moments later for an electrifying rendition of “Billy Jean,” passionately mouthing the song’s lyrics as he recreated Jackson’s moonwalk, ending the show on a high note. “Performing onstage was a blast ... We put in a lot of hard work to make this an overall success, and we’ll definitely come back with even better performances in the future,” Katare said. In the future, L2 hopes to increase the magnitude and reach of Spring Fling through publicizing and planning further in advance. “Even with a lot of pressure and stressful incidents, we carried on really well ... A lot of people did enjoy the amenities that we had, the activities that we brought; we were able to use the positives from [Homecoming Extravaganza] and build upon those,” Senior Class Secretary Andrew Liang said. ▪

DECA SCDC: 41 qualify to Internationals

By Keerti Koya & Praamesh Siva Staff Writers

From March 2-6, MSJ DECA participated in the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) in Anaheim, CA. SCDC is the largest DECA competition in CA, with more than 2,000 attendees this year from across the state. The club sent 93 members to the conference, and 41 members qualifed for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in April.

DECA is a global organization that helps the development of real-world skills for careers in marketing, fnance, hospitality, and management through hands-on experience. In addition to regional competitions, community service projects, leadership development programs, and networking opporDECA annual brings together thousands of DECA members from across CA to compete in a variety of business and marketing events. If they place top fve in their roleplay event, an impromptu case study, or top four in their written event, the presentation of a pre-prepared written report, participants will have the opportunity to compete at ICDC against DECA members from across the world.

“We had Wednesday workshops every week. Also, the ofcers tried [their] best to meet with each of the members individually, to grade their presentations and help them with their roleplays.”

-Director of Mentorship Junior Aum Narkar

Preparation for SCDC began August 2022 and increased in the weeks prior to the conference. Members spent hours of their own time getting ready and attending the club’s weekly workshops.

“We had Wednesday workshops every week. Also, the offcers tried [their] best to meet with each of the members individually, to grade their presentations and help them with their roleplays,” MSJ DECA Director of Mentorship Junior Aum Narkar said. Winning at this year’s conference proved to be challenging, with many events seeing nearly double the number of competitors compared to last year. Even so, notable Junior Allison Wang and Sophomore Drishti Sethia overcame the competition and placed frst statewide in their event, the only MSJ DECA members to do so. “I studied a lot for the 2022 ICDC last year, which defnitely carried over to help me place this year,” Wang said.

Beyond competing at the conference, MSJ DECA members also spent time creating connections with other DECA students, attending guest speaker lectures to expand their business knowledge, and having fun. With the conference location being a walkable distance from Downtown Disney District, Disneyland Park, and countless other unique attractions, many members spent their time off enjoying the lively city. “My experience at SCDC was nothing short of amazing. The people I met and the experience I gained are something I will never forget,” Freshman Nishka Iyer said.

This year, MSJ DECA performed spectacularly, with six more members qualifying for ICDC than last year. Many frst-year members did exceeding ly well as they received mentorship from offcers and experienced second-year students. Those that won were rewarded with DECA glass, the highest award offered in the competi tion. “This year had the most ICDC qualifers and glass won than I have seen in my 5 years as MSJ DECA’s adviser,” MSJ DECA Adviser Bellamy Liu said. MSJ DECA will close the year with ICDC on April 22-25 and an end-of-the-year banquet for graduating seniors and congratulate members for their work. Sophomore Anson Lam, Junior Megha Hegde, and Senior Mehul Maurya, three ICDC qualifers, said they were greatly looking forward to ICDC and going to Orlando, both of which will be new experiences for them.

The offcers, Liu, and Entrepreneurship Teacher Valerie Carattini also have high hopes for the future of MSJ DECA. “I hope members will go on to win at ICDC. It won’t be easy but I see great talent in the members who made it that far already,” MSJ DECA President-Elect Junior Allison Huang said. “I also do see a bright future for MSJ DECA and am ex