Departing from their annual canned food drive, this year’s Distributed Education Clubs of America (DECA) student leadership spearheaded a community 5K run, initiating massive clubwide change. The officer team worked persistently to coordinate, advertise, and upscale the run on Saturday, Sept. 27. Aiming to localize the event and highlight its connection to Warrior DECA, the officers strategically hosted the run at a park just across the street from campus.

“We’ve never done a community service event like this,” DECA Executive Vice President Saisha Siram ‘26 said. “We’ve always done the food drives, but I really appreciate being able to actually see the people and have this be an experience for them rather than just donating something and never seeing where it goes. Obviously, this was a big event to plan out and it took a lot of time from people, but I think it turned out great and we’ll see what happens next year.”

Pooling at the start line at 7:30 a.m., competitors were divided into runner and walker groups, with the former taking to the track first. The track itself was a winding trail through the park, which members had to circle three times to secure their final run time. For DECA members, running three laps also fulfilled their event requirements including active participation, attendance, and a $20 fee contributing to the profits earned.

“I’m really inspired by [all these community members],” DECA Director of Outreach Eileen Wu ‘26 said. “Personally, I started off running and it was really cold and I didn’t really want to do it. But then, as I got to meet a lot of friends on the way, they encouraged me.”

The event had a massive turnout, primarily due to mandatory attendance for all DECA students. By establishing this requirement, Warrior DECA ensured that members met their community service point, contributing to the annual organizational service campaign. Each year, Warrior DECA aims to conduct a service campaign that earns them national recognition through DECA for their organizational efforts. The run, however, was not solely restricted to students and staff. A significant portion of the runners stemmed from local businesses and families.

“[The event] was mandatory for DECA students, so I would expect to see them here, but it was just really cool to see people who weren’t students,” Michelle Li ‘26 said. “They weren’t required to be here, [but]
they just wanted to take the opportunity to run and interact with the community — that was really cool that we could bring that out in people.”

In order to facilitate such a large-scale and unprecedented community event, the officer team began preparations as early as last May. Moving from solely a campus community to larger, local audiences required additional planning and approvals.

“[The planning included] finding sponsors, organizing the bibs, [and] getting the trackers so that we can make this more of an official race,” Siram said. “During the summer, that’s when we reach out to all these businesses and try to see who could come, and then we also had to go to city council to even get permission to use this park. It was definitely a lengthy process, but definitely rewarding.”

In addition to managing extensive logistics for the event, the officers also prioritized incorporating small details to enhance event experience. Warrior DECA partnered with ATX Timing to professionally manage run times and automated trackers, even incorporating a commentator to energetically encourage runners. Moreover, the officers provided donuts and drinks for breakfast, sponsored by DECA volunteers and Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee Truck. To spur on runners in the last stretch, DECA volunteers created and held up inspiring posters. 

“This is totally an upgrade,” Wu said. “I hope we keep this going after I’m gone, like every single year. It’s so much more involvement [than] the food drive — [with the run], I feel like I made an impact. My $20 are going to a good cause, and I feel good about myself after running.”

All profits from the run will be donated to the school’s Excellence Fund, which directly supports teachers. This year’s officer team hopes to set a lasting precedent for future community service campaigns, shifting the focus from merely meeting point requirements to making a genuine impact. 

“We had a lot of people turn up which was so nice to see,” Siram said. “Everyone’s having a lot of fun — we had food trucks come in [and] free coffee, so I think overall, it’s just great vibes.”