![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasn't making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable," Carter Chadwick ('22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
First semester concluded this week with the announcement of 2013’s Intel Science Talent Search (STS) semi-finalists, an assembly featuring guest speaker Vint Cerf, and the annual instrumental Winter Concert.
“We’re looking at the culmination of a lot of hard work in different areas,” Butch Keller said. “All the Intel work that all the students did and all the teachers have done, whether they were semi-finalists or not, is the culmination of a lot of hard work. The concert Friday night is again a culmination of a lot of work. It’s not just the practicing of the pieces that you hear, but it’s all the work that led up to the ability to be able to do that.”
After engaging in hours of research and writing about their respective science, technology, engineering, and math experiments, seniors Paulomi Bhattacharya, Ashvin Swaminathan, Jenny Chen, Payal Modi, Deniz Celik, and Andrew Luo received news that they are semi-finalists in the Intel STS competition. The Upper School has the most semi-finalists of any school in California.
Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist of Google, Vint Cerf, spoke to Upper School students on Friday, January 11. Cerf is credited as one of the instrumental designers of the Internet, alongside Bob Kahn. His talk centered on his experiences with developing the Internet and being hearing impaired. Cerf received a standing ovation at the end of the assembly.
The Upper School Lab Band, Jazz Band, and Orchestra, conducted by Chris Florio and Dr. David Hart, performed on Friday evening at the Mexican Heritage Center for the 2013 Winter Concert. Preceding the concert were the Middle School music groups and a dinner for parents and students.
More events to look forward to next week include updates on the wrestling team and Eagle Buddies.