End of Year Banquet

The end of year banquet had a nice turnout. Anish and Karan spoke as well as Mr. and Mrs. Chiles. Mr. Chiles gave out awards. The 2022-2023 officers (above) handed the mantle of power over to the new officers (below).

(L to R) Anish Paudel, Karan Sankar, Shivani Jayaraj, Thanvi Gudur, Lakshana Asthigiri, Akshara Bade, Sanvi Mukkara, Naina Zakkireddy, and Stephanie Chon

(L to R) Nivedhi Maniv, Ananya Sriram, Danish Rehan, Saurav Bellam, Thanvi Gudur, Shivani Jayaraj, Anshu Chundi, Saanvi Mukkara, Lakshana Asthigiri, Nidhi Kashyap, Shivani Anna

(Top L-R) Shivani J, Saivee S, Lakshana A; (Bottom L-R) Abhinav B, Saurav B, Saanvi M

ICDC 2023 - Orlando

We sent three members to Orlando for ICDC this year. Nivedha Maniv and Saanvi Mukkara both competed in Human Resources Management (HRM) with Shivani Anna competing in Marketing Communication Series (MCS). All three made the top twenty-five and were called back for a second role play. Their practice paid off with Nivedha Maniv placing in the Top 25; Saanvi Mukkara placing in the Top 10; and Shivani Anna winning Second Place in the world!!!

Here are some photos from awards night:

Maniv, Chiles, Anna, and Mukkara

Texas CDC

Independence DECA sent twenty-nine competitors to state. Four advanced to ICDC and many more were named as alternates. It was held at the Hilton Anatole which in Dallas this year. Here are photos of the group, everyone who placed, and the four that were selected to move on to ICDC:

District 7 CDC

The group relaxing prior to closing ceremony

District 7 Career Development Conference and Competition was a success. It was held at the Irving Convention Center. 3,200 students were in attendance. Independence sent fifty-six and twenty-nine placed, so they will all advance to state in March.

The officers who are advancing to state

The winners

Having fun at lunch

DECA Day With The Dallas Cowboys

DECA went to AT&T Stadium to learn about sports and entertainment marketing from the experts. They also went on a self-guided tour. Mr. Chiles dressed as one of his role models, Tom Laundry, and told the students about his legacy as a coach. He left the signature fedora at home. We also discovered that some of the students should try out for the football team!

Pictured above from left to right, back row first: Kadhir Arun, Hatim Rehman, Sreekar Jarajapu, Anish Paudel, Danish Rehan, Moiz Shah, Priyangen Rajkumar, Sai Darsh Kandukuri, Andrew Bober; (front row) Sri Kotaru, Anshu Chundi, Divya Pothula, Sahiti Inaganti, Evelyn Chen, Nidhi Kashyap, and Lakshana Asthigiri

Evelyn Chen and Nidhi Kashyap in the end zone

Anish Paudel and Sahiti Inaganti on the sideline

Officer Dinner at Piada Italian Street Food

The officers had a great time at Piada Italian Street Food restaurant. They met for fun, food, (a little) foolery, and planning on Sunday, November 13th.

On the left side, from the front to the back is:

• Karan Sankar

• Anish Paudel

• Shivani Jayaraj

• Saanvi Mukkara

On the right side, from the front to the back is:

• Lakshana Asthigiri

• Akshara Bade

• Naina Zakkireddy

• Thanvi Gudur

Knight Market Grand Opening

The Knight Market opened this week with a refreshed look and streamlined products. All of your favorites are back from last year. We are happy to take your cash before and after school. We hope to take electronic payment soon.

We can’t wait to see you!!!

Group Dynamix

by Shelby Chiles

This year District 7 DECA converged upon Group Dynamix for a team building event for the officers that serve at the high school level in Clay, Collin, Cooke, Denton, Grayson, Jack, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties in Texas. Due to scheduling conflicts, only four of our officers were able to attend. Lakshana made sure she attended again this year since she was in attendance last year. Shivani DOMINATED the course and is fearless; however, everyone emerged closer, had a great time, and is a winner.

There are additional photos in the gallery here.

If you would like to learn more about Group Dynamix’s indoor team building activities, you can go here.

ICDC In Atlanta, GA 2021-2022 SY

On April 22, 2022, four students went to Atlanta to represent Independence High School at DECA’s international competition, ICDC. It is the culmination of the entire year’s events with over 20,000 high school students!!! Mr. Chiles had a blast collecting pins from all of the different states and countries and trading them with others. The ladies returned with glass on April 27th.

Clockwise from left to right:

• Tanvi Muppala, International Competitor, AAM

• Saanvi Mukkara, Silver Medal Finalist, PBM

• Saivee Shelke, Top Ten, RMS

• Shivani Jayaraj, International Competitor, PBM