![“[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)
Dragon dancing spirit event celebrates Chinese New Year
Seniors chant and dance in their brightly colored construction paper dragon. The National Chinese Honor Society prepared a dragon dancing spirit event in celebration of Chinese New Year.
Four vibrantly colored dragons assembled before Manzanita Hall today, dancing with a fiery passion during the spirit event hosted by the National Chinese Honor Society (NCHS).
With Chinese New Year just around the corner, NCHS prepared a week of activities to celebrate this cultural holiday. Today’s dragon dancing, or wu long, has long been a traditional part of Chinese New Year celebrations.
In Chinese folklore, dragons, particularly the red dragon, are considered to be frightening but benevolent spirits that bring good fortune. Each year, dragon dances are performed to ward off evil spirits and ensure a successful year.
The spirit event during long lunch consisted of building a dragon costume and performing a dance before judges.
Teams composed of members from each grade gathered together and proceeded to construct their dragons for around 40 minutes, utilizing long sheets of construction paper and cardboard boxes.
While the upperclassmen incorporated more traditional designs, the freshmen opted for a more comical depiction of a platypus-like dragon, featuring a monocle and handlebar mustache, and the sophomores designed a yellow dragon to exhibit the color of their class.
“It was definitely fun [creating the dragon]. The whole point of spirit events is class bonding, so it doesn’t matter if we won or lost,” sophomore class vice president Nikita Mittal said.
Senior Pooja Shah also participated in building the dragon for her class and found the experience a very enjoyable way to spend her lunch.
“I liked that everyone was working hard and wanted to win, but they were still being chill about it. They weren’t competitive, which was nice,” she said.
After the students finished designing and building the dragons, they paraded outside Manzanita under the dragons they made and showcased their dragon dancing abilities to music provided by the NCHS.
“I thought it was very interesting. I’ve never really watched [a dragon dance], and it was really fun even though we obviously won’t win,” said freshman class president Michael Zhao, who participated as one of the dragon dancers.
Student Activities Coordinator Kerry Enzensperger believes that the juniors and seniors created the best dragons and revealed that she thoroughly enjoyed their performances.
“When the seniors ran by with their dragon, everyone was cracking up, and it was just funny,” she said in response to the seniors’ chanting dance.
In order to coordinate the spirit event, NCHS collaborated with Spirit Club and discussed the logistics of the competition.
“[Spirit Club advisor] Kerry Enzensperger was instrumental in helping us put the event together,” Chinese teacher and NCHS advisor Dr. Shaun Jahshan said, adding that “the classes seemed really enthusiastic about it.” She hopes to make the dragon dance an annual event.
Sophomore Leon Chin echoed this sentiment and thinks “there should be an event before Chinese New Year occurs every year, as it can demonstrate the festivities and tradition of the Chinese culture.”