Meet Shrey Patel, Undergraduate Business Major and President of Rice's DECA Chapter

What is DECA?

​DECA stands for Distributive Education Clubs of America. It is a career and technical student organization (CTSO) with both a high school and collegiate division. They prepare students to be successful leaders and help entrepreneurs succeed in the fields of marketing, finance, management, hospitality and other business operations. DECA does this through competitions, leadership positions, service opportunities and networking activities.

Competitions run from the state level to the international stage, and students can compete based around four career pathways: business management and administration, marketing, finance, and hospitality and tourism. Students can compete in role-play events where they solve real-life problems then present a proposed strategy. There are also written events where students work with a real business, conduct a research study, and propose strategies to improve the challenge at hand.

Aside from competitions, DECA boasts many leadership opportunities running from chapter positions to international executive positions. Opportunities are open to all members and are a great way to build key 21st-century skills. All in all, DECA is a chance for students to gain personal and professional development and to build momentum around their career.

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What's your personal DECA experience like, and what accolades have you achieved along the way?

I joined DECA in my freshman year of high school. After joining, I decided to compete in the finance operations research (FOR) event at the state level, which qualified me for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC). I went on to become a finalist in my event and was ranked Top 20 internationally. Using this momentum, I ran and was elected to our chapter's leadership council team where I had the opportunity to lead the largest chapter in Iowa (Ames High School). I continued this leadership position for three terms. I also ran for the state office for Iowa during my sophomore year and was elected as the VP of career development. In my senior year, I was elected as the State of Iowa President for DECA. With no plans to retire, I even ran for an international executive officer position for DECA Inc. I have grown both personally and professionally through my high school DECA experience.

Coming into Rice, I had a goal to find a DECA chapter at the university and bring this amazing opportunity to as many students as possible. I pitched the idea to Kyle Judah, director at the Lilie Lab, and he was kind enough to be our chapter advisor. From there, I recruited a team of eight students that became our Rice DECA leadership council. Utilizing our networks, we quickly grew to more than forty members. As February approached, we took seventeen students to the Texas State Career Development Conference (SCDC), the state competition where we dominated the stage and had all our students place amongst the top three in their respective events. At this time, I campaigned for state office, and with the support from Texas DECA, earned the privilege to serve as the next Texas Collegiate DECA President. After this experience, all our state winners were on track to compete at the collegiate DECA ICDC. This competition occurred during the same week as our finals week, so several students weren’t able to compete. However, the students who could make it had a successful turnout. One of our teams became a finalist in the financial statement analysis event. I became a finalist in both of my events: business research and human resources management (HRM) and was ranked top three in my HRM event. So, I was able to take home a prestigious DECA glass trophy.

Why did you charter a DECA chapter at Rice?

When I came to Rice, I felt a lack of effective presence for entrepreneurship-related organizations, not to mention organizations with competitions. Given that we’re a top 20 university with our entrepreneurship program being ranked number 1 in the nation, I knew Rice had the perfect opportunity to house a DECA chapter. In terms of help, our outstanding advisor Kyle Judah was a great source of support for Rice requirements. Nicole Willis (TX Collegiate DECA Director) was a great help for DECA requirements. And once formed, our Rice DECA leadership council team laid a solid foundation that led the recruiting efforts and got everything off the ground.

Who is on DECA’s leadership team?

• Kyle Judah, Executive Director, Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie) and
  Lecturer in Entrepreneurship: Advisor

• Shrey Patel: President

• Asianna Junge: VP of Marketing

• Michael Bilous: VP of Finance

• Nicole Alvarez: VP of Community Service

• Krish Patel: VP of Career Development

• Kavya Narang: VP of Hospitality

• Izzy Xiong: VP of Communications

• Nolan Du: VP of Leadership

How does DECA impact students?

DECA’s impact can be highlighted through five main categories: leadership opportunities, networking, developing 21st-century skills, community service opportunities, and personal and professional growth. For leadership, students can hold any position ranging from chapter officer to international executive officer. We encourage freshmen to get involved and hold leadership positions (something that’s harder to get with other organizations). For networking, DECA members get exposed to students from all 50 states (plus a few countries) and business leaders from all sectors of study. 

The most prominent skill that I’ve developed is public speaking. With the help of DECA, I’m now comfortable with speaking in front of thousands of students. For community service, our chapter loves to get involved around campus and in the Houston community. One of our goals for next semester is to get more involved in the community and even get non-DECA members involved. Lastly, combining all of these, students get practical experience to help train them into business professionals in the field they aspire to pursue.

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What competitions and conferences has DECA participated in?

As a newly founded chapter, Rice DECA has attended two conferences thus far: the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) in Waco, TX and the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Austin, TX. As state president, I had the opportunity to attend the high school SCDC event which had 7,000+ student attendees. In the future, we’ll continue attending the SCDC and ICDC events, and will potentially explore other professional development conferences such as DECA Engage.

What should Rice students know about DECA?

Students should know that DECA is an organization for all majors! Although marketed as a business organization, we promise there’s something for everyone. We’ve had representation from computer science, bioscience, law, economics, psychology and many other fields. There’s something for everyone. And when it comes to 21st-century skills, everyone can learn and grow from them!

Along with this, I’d like to emphasize the world of opportunities available through DECA. As a freshman, you could hold a leadership position within our chapter and by the next year serve as a state association officer. If you’re not keen on leadership positions, there are numerous competitions to get recognized all the way to the international stage. Not to mention there are several networking opportunities with chapters across Texas and the country. Through my time in DECA, I’ve developed a strong network of people from basically all 50 states. Many of these people have become close friends. It’s never too late to join DECA!

As far as what’s next for Rice DECA, growing our membership will be our continuous goal. We want to make sure everyone knows about the opportunity and professional development experience. We want to host more social events, cultivate partnerships with local organizations, and participate in community service projects.

Shrey Patel is an undergraduate student in the Class of 2026.