Patel elected District 11 DECA president (with video)

The District 11 president for the 2022-2023 school year is… Dilan Patel.

Whoops and hollers fill the air as Coppell High School students celebrate the first DECA district president from CHS in seven years. 

On Jan. 20, at the Texas DECA Career Development Conference student business competition, Coppell High School junior Dilan Patel was announced as Dallas and Rockwall Counties (District 11) 2022-2023 president. 

In freshman year, Patel was interested in business, marketing and public speaking. When searching for a club to join, Patel knew DECA was going to be the right fit. 

“There weren’t any leaders in [my graduating year],” Patel said “Typically they were upperclassmen. Those upperclassmen were always role models to me and I wanted to follow in their footsteps.” 

The journey to become a candidate consisted of an essay, interview, speech and test as well as advisor and principal approval. After passing these steps, Patel was officially a candidate and had to appeal to voting delegates at the competition. 

“It felt really good to be elected because I worked hard at it,” Patel said. “I feel like I represented what District 11 needed.  When it was announced, I just smiled. I heard Coppell cheering and it was nice to have a moment where people supported [me].” 

From an outsider perspective, Patel’s current work ethic models that of a goal-oriented top student. However, this was not always the case. Throughout Coppell Middle School West,  Patel was known as the guy who messed around in class and didn’t take school very seriously.  

“I met [Patel] in sixth grade,” said junior Aryan Shah, Patel’s best friend.  “He was in my social studies class. I knew he was smart but he never focused on [school]. When he started high school he made studying a priority, but he’s still someone who has fun. He took up a lot of leadership opportunities which helped him mature.”

Although this maturation was gradual through his high school years, a pivotal moment occurred in last school year’s virtual learning as Patel felt the pressures of college and the future and realized his ambitions. Patel’s post-graduation goal is to study at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. 

“[Patel] is one of our quieter leaders,” CHS DECA adviser Richard Chamberlain said.

Outside of DECA, Patel is an active member in marching band and played saxophone in the award-winning ‘Carousel’ show that scored the highest score Coppell has ever received. 

“We have band camp before the [marching] season starts and we have eighth graders come in and have them get a feel for what marching season is like,” Coppell varsity marching band section leader Haavish Arutla said. “I met [Dilan] there [freshman] and he was kind to everybody, but he just wanted to have fun all the time. He’s grown up a lot since then. There’s been a lot of [improvement] that I’ve seen in him. He’s matured and he even had the chance to be section leader his sophomore year for JV. He put in a lot of hard work. His playing ability has improved a lot in the last year which means he definitely put in a lot of time outside of school practicing.” 

In February 2021, Patel began working out at the gym in order to gain confidence. Through this, he found a new passion: competitive weightlifting. Patel competes through USA Powerlifting and recently met the target/required weight for national competition later this month in Illinois. 

“In my friend group, I would always be picked on because I was the smallest,” Patel said. “I would get wrestled and thrown around. I was tired of it and started working out and building myself up. One day, my friend asked me if I wanted to start powerlifting and I just said ‘yeah.’ We started competing [in September].” 

With a busy schedule like Patel’s, it’s hard to imagine being able to have fun and balance work and life. There’s still a part of him from that past that hasn’t changed. 

“I like to have fun,” Patel said. “My whole thing is that you can do anything you want but it only matters if you enjoy it. I like to get stuff done and achieve my goals but at the same time there’s no point in achieving those goals if you’re not enjoying the journey. I believe you should really have that balance and that’s what I try to do.”  

This attitude is evident as Shah has been alongside Patel and watched him meet these milestones in life. 

“When it’s time to work he’s one of the hardest workers and smartest people I know,” Shah said. When it comes to school and studying he excels in it, but when it comes to fun, he’s one of the most fun people I know.” 

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