![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.jpg)
![“[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)
![“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)
![“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)
![“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)
![“[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)
College counseling starts for the class of 2014
Juniors enter the counseling office, which is located near the front office in Main. The counselors will be guiding the students through college applications and selections.
The juniors attended their first college counseling class during extra help yesterday to prepare for the upcoming college application process.
College counselor Nicole Burrell explained the topics that will be covered in college counseling this year. On Tuesday, the counselors gave the juniors an overview of their year in college counseling.
“Really, the two goals of this year for the juniors are to help them in a slow organized fashion to understand the process of college applications and to have them make their college lists so that the students do not have to scramble during senior year,” Burrell said.
Junior Lea Daran does not like that she will have to miss her extra helps for the remainder of the year and did not expect to start college counseling in her junior year.
“I will definitely miss my extra helps, and I think it’s weird that I am a junior and am going into college counselling,” she said.
While the college counselors primarily aim to help students in the process of applying to various colleges, some students have already made their plans and will use this guidance to check if they are prepared for college.
“I feel like I know what I need to do already but this will still be useful to tell us what we have missed or to give us advice on our college plans,” Damon Aitken (11) said.
Now that second semester has started, many colleges have informed current seniors about their acceptances. Several seniors look back at their college counseling class as useful guidance.
“It took up my time, but I think it’s a very good resource for everyone to have,” Erik Andersen (12) said.
Students in the class of 2014 will now spend every Tuesday after school gaining more information about applying to college next year.
Ayushi Gautam (12) is the Managing Editor of Harker Aquila. She has been a part of the journalism program since her freshman year. She was the Social Media...