Lakhi Thotakura is a senior and four-year DECA member at Naperville North High School. She couldn't be more excited to serve on the 2026–2027 Illinois DECA State Action Team!

Like many freshmen, Lakhi entered high school wanting to try everything and joined more clubs than she could keep track of. DECA was one of them, but it quickly became the one she loved most. After four years of competition, traveling, and meeting some of her closest friends, it easily became her favorite part of high school.

Freshman year, Lakhi’s first ICDC took her all the way to Anaheim. Between racing around Disney to fit in as many rides as possible, trading pins for the first time, and making memories with friends, the experience showed her what made DECA so much more than just a competition. Three years later, with ICDC heading back to Anaheim, Lakhi hopes to bring her DECA journey full circle, returning to where it all started as a senior!

Lakhi loves competing in all kinds of DECA events, from roleplays to corporate challenges. Last year, she placed 7th at ICDC in Project Management Career Development, but her favorite part was the late-night practices and nonstop laughter with her teammates, Abby and Aarav. This year, she’ll be competing in Food Marketing and taking on PMCD one last time. At Naperville North, Lakhi has spent the past three years on her chapter’s leadership team and currently serves as Vice President of Career Development. Last year, she was especially proud to see 16 of Naperville North’s members make it all the way to ICDC!

Outside of DECA, Lakhi co-founded KALM Recover, a portable contrast-therapy startup, in her business incubator class. It qualified for the Mott Million Dollar Challenge in Michigan this summer, where she and her team won 15k in funding! In college, she hopes to combine her interests in medicine, business, and entrepreneurship and explore how innovation can make an impact in healthcare!

In her free time, Lakhi LOVES collecting Sonny Angels (and filming unboxing videos), going to concerts, and trying new restaurants with friends. She’s always down for a late-night food run, loves riding her e-scooter in Jewel-Osco parking lots (and falling off), and won’t say no to an excuse to dress up and go somewhere with her friends.

Lakhi can’t wait to make the most of her final year in DECA, meet members from across Illinois, and help everyone discover their own #NextBigThing!