![“[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)
Over break, eight students received the news that they had won a Gold Key, Silver Key, or Honorable Mention for a piece that they submitted to the California Scholastic Writing and Arts Competition.
English teacher Dr. Pauline Paskali announced the results today during school meeting.
“It was spectacular; I love to see all these Harker names,” Dr. Paskali said. “We have a hugely talented student body, and we hear so much about the successes in math and science, it’s just nice to see how talented our students are across the board.”
In total, the Upper School won two Gold Key, four Silver Key, and four Honorable Mentions awards this year. Senior Emily Wang received a Gold Key award for her personal memoir “Missed Connections And The Secret Of Mattering,” and Stephanie Chen won the same award for her short story “Sundial.”
“I was really surprised and happy,” Emily said. “It was incredible to receive that level of recognition for something I wrote. I think like one of the issues with creative writing is that you never really know how to judge your own work objectively so to hear that someone else read something that I wrote and liked it was just the ultimate compliment.”
This year is Emily’s fourth time submitting her work to the competition. Over the years, she has won various awards including Honorable Mentions at the Regional Level and a National Gold Key.
For the other Gold Key winner, Stephanie, writing is also a hobby. Unlike Emily, this year is only her second time participating in the competition.
“I think when I wrote [my piece], there was the possibility in my head like if it turns out okay, I would submit it,” Stephanie said. “I don’t think I was writing specifically for the competition. I like to write.”
Dr. Paskali believes that contests like the California Scholastic Arts and Writing Competition are beneficial for students who are starting creative writing because it gives them both a deadline to aim towards and sometimes also a topic to use as a starting point.
Other winners include Albert Chu (11), Kacey Fang (10), and Leo Yu (10) who won Silver Key awards, and Lori Berenberg (12), Vineet Kosaraju (9), and Cindy Liu (10) who received Honorable Mentions.
![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)
