![“[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)
As a joint effort between Student Council and the administration, the second club day of the school year was held today. To accommodate the 30-minute club period, each class was shortened by five minutes.
Many clubs chose to take advantage of the extra time by organizing meetings during the session instead of during long lunch.
Harker Business Club (HBC) held an informational meeting in Nichols Auditorium specifically for students who will be attending the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) States conference next week.
“I thought it was beneficial because I like having my lunch free,” HBC member Kristen Park (9) said.
Like HBC, Red Cross Club used the period to make blood drive posters for Red Cross Week next month, and Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (WiSTEM) discussed ideas for potential future projects including designing application software for the Android.
Although WiSTEM Treasurer Kristine Lin (11) felt that the allocated time was beneficial, she expressed sentiments similar to other students’ thoughts of the first club day on January 23.
“Since a lot of clubs were then meeting at club time, the turnout at the meetings is generally lower [due to conflicts],” Kristine said.
Senior Alan Soetikno, who is Key Club President and the Community Service Coordinator of Red Cross Club and Interact, also echoed similar responses. He noted that half the usual number of people showed up for the Red Cross meeting in comparison to regular lunch meetings.
“If the whole point of club period was to organize all the clubs to make it easier, it didn’t really,” Alan said. “It’s not like people would have forgotten about their club. In fact, people still hold club meetings during lunch regardless of whether there is club time.”
Students who had no mandatory club meetings chose to use the spare time to work on homework, study for tests, or simply socialize with friends.
