2013-2014 State Officer Biographies

Valerie Caña, State President

Valerie Caña is bursting with enthusiasm to be your 2013-2014 State President. As your former Vice President of Publicity, she came to the realization that it is far from over for her and wanted to continue serving this organization and its amazing members. She would like to thank everyone who supported her, kept calm, and “Caña-ed” on; and promises to take Nevada DECA to the next level.

Valerie is currently enrolled in the Fashion Design program at Southwest CTA, and because of that she can sew her ever-popping DECA blazer buttons back on like pro! In addition to being a “sewing champion”, she’s also a member of her school’s Varsity Golf team, National Honor Society, and soon to be Environmental club. And although Valerie’s schedule juggles between school activities, events, and AP classes, she always makes her DECA work a major priority. Valerie’s mission is to project an enhanced image of our organization, increase interaction between all of our chapters, and unite Nevada DECA so it can thrive into a more cohesive unit as a whole.

Valerie lives by the quote “Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow” and busies herself not only making herself a better person, but also making Nevada DECA a better organization for her constituents. She has learned so much from DECA from networking to public speaking, and cannot wait to share her leadership experience and knowledge with her members.

After graduating from high school, Valerie plans to venture out to the East Coast to pursue her interests in evolutionary and marine biology. In her spare time, she enjoys playing her viola, reading, and writing prose.

Valerie is ready to RISE to the challenge and work with Team 53 this year to make Nevada DECA thrive.

Tara Eskic, State Secretary

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Tara Eskic is your 2013-2014 Nevada DECA State Secretary from Southwest CTA. Let me start off by saying this girl is all DECA all the time! I know she's ecstatic about the upcoming year as your Nevada DECA Secretary and has great plans and ideas for the organization. Last year she attended both state and ICDC, then decided to run for state office this year. Before being awarded her state office position she served as a representative at the local chapter level.

Tara has big dreams of going to UCLA and studying medicine to ultimately become a pediatrician. She hopes to eventually attain a doctoral degree. Even though she aspires to go into the medical field, Tara values all that DECA stands for and teaches its members on a daily basis. Tara values hard work and dedication and will always go the extra mile in order to make sure she does everything to the best of her ability. By going into the medical field she hopes to help people, specifically children with serious medical conditions.

Through DECA, Tara has been able to improve her skills in organization, networking, and communicating with others. "Be content to act, and leave the talking to the others." In DECA we put our ideas not just into words, but we put them into action. As a member of DECA, one receives endless opportunities and benefits to learn skills that are needed throughout life because, "If you are not willing to risk the usual you will have to settle for the ordinary.” Together we will strive for everything extraordinary and outstanding through all things DECA!

John Moran, Vice President of Membership

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John Moran, your Vice President of Membership, is grateful to be serving his fellow DECA members during his junior year at A-Tech Academy. He is looking forward to working with the members of Nevada DECA on the 53rd State Officer Team.

Currently in his third year with Nevada DECA, John has dedicated a great deal of his time and energy over the past few years towards working with and improving his DECA chapter. John served as the President of his DECA chapter during his junior year before taking state office, and has worked towards expanding his chapter’s membership and performance at competition. He has won three first place awards and one second place award at SCDC over the last three competitions, and he works hard toward preparing both himself and others to do well in competition.

Outside of DECA, John greatly values his schoolwork, and strives to perform well academically. Currently taking classes in business, he hopes to put that knowledge, along with his valuable experiences from DECA, to use by continuing his business studies in college before entering the business community. He enjoys helping others, whether it is in school or with DECA, and always has time for those who need it. One of his favorite things to do is to meet new people, and making new friends is always a top priority for him. John greatly enjoys SCDC and ICDC, as they have always provided a great opportunity for him to meet new people and make new friends among his fellow DECA members.

John is dedicated to helping his fellow DECA members, and looks forward to serving you as your Vice President of Membership.

Valari Esposito, Vice President of Publicity

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Valari Esposito is a student majoring in hospitality at Southwest CTA in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is a hard working, dedicated student, and is very excited to be serving on the 2013-2014 Nevada DECA State Officer Team.

Valari wanted to become a leader starting when she was twelve years old. She was the treasurer of her drama class, and ever since has been inspiring others. Valari was in theater for six years, and broke out of her shell her first year. She has grown as an individual over the years and is a very confident person. She has always been very motivated to help others and be a leader in her every day life.

Valari was Public Relations Officer of SWCTA DECA during the 2012-2013 school year. She was in charge of passing along information to her chapter of over 700 members. Although the job was difficult, Valari went above and beyond to make sure that every member knew what was going on. She is very interested in public relations and broadcasting. She has been in a broadcast journalism class for three years, filming and editing news stories.

After high school Valari would like to go to California to study broadcast journalism, and possibly be the anchor on the news show you watch every day. Her past times include theater and, of course, DECA. She lives and breathes Nevada DECA, and is so excited to be a part of the state officer team. Valari cannot wait to serve everyone during her term as Nevada DECA’s VP of Publicity.

Rebecca Live, Southern Nevada Vice President

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Nevada DECA's Vice President of Southern Nevada is Southwest Career and Technical Academy's, Rebecca Live. Rebecca is a sophomore at Southwest CTA and is majoring in interior design. Being that this is Rebecca's first year as a state officer, let alone serving as a first year DECA member, she plans to not only change DECA, but to add something more. She is excited to see the number of alumni grow and the amount of activity in the state increase. Even though she is undecided on what college she plans on attending, she's very opened to the many opportunities that lie ahead. She hopes to earn a bachelors degree and eventually earn a masters degree in marketing. Being in this organization helps her grow further in the business world. She feels by being in DECA will help open many doors in her future down the road.

Throughout her life she has learned a very important lesson which is, “If you want something, don’t let anything stop you because nothing is impossible.” By applying this to DECA she understands she is ready to take on this mission as a state officer and do great things throughout her term in office. She is thrilled to work side-by-side with the rest of her officer team for the following year; she knows she has a strong team and is ready to lead along with the rest of them.

Jeff Brooks, Northern Nevada Vice President

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Jeff Brooks is your 2013-2014 Vice President of Northern Nevada. He is currently a junior at Dayton High School, in Dayton, Nevada. Even though this is Jeff’s first year in DECA, he has been in a leadership class for three years and is qualified to have this important leadership position. Referring to the many previous leadership positions Jeff has had, these past roles have steered the way for him to be accountable and prepared for this important opportunity.

Jeff is thrilled about working with his amazing state officer team and making all his goals and visions into action. Jeff currently does not know what college he wants to go to, but he is keeping his options open and exploring his choices. He plans to get his bachelors degree in marketing and pursue a career in business. Jeff aspires to go into the sports marketing and management field.

DECA has helped Jeff find his passion. Without DECA he would not know what he would like to study in college and would not have had the amazing experiences and knowledge he has today. “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” Through DECA everything and anything is possible.