![“[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)
This week, the Living with Intent Focus and Enthusiasm (L.I.F.E.) board is hosting a road safety awareness campaign on campus in order to inform students about the importance of driving carefully.
After losing family members in a car accident, Gwen Howard (9) became committed to establishing awareness about road safety. She has partnered with the L.I.F.E. board to reach out to the Upper School community and encourage attentiveness while driving.
“I wanted to bring driver awareness to Harker because it’s something that affects our everyday lives,” Gwen said. “Road safety is a cause that I’m immensely passionate about and I feel it is overlooked too often. Especially in high school when students are just learning how to drive, it’s important to get the message out there that roads can be seriously dangerous, but they don’t have to be.”
Driver awareness week was introduced during Tuesday’s school meeting with a short video about Gwen’s personal connection to safe driving and her fundraising efforts thus far. She began street performing in Palo Alto and proceeded to host benefit concerts; as a result, she has raised over $14,000. Following the video, Gwen and the L.I.F.E board announced that donations for the cause will be accepted this week during both lunches.
“We decided to [focus on road safety] after receiving some information regarding teen deaths due to texting, goofing around, and other distractions,” L.I.F.E. board advisor Jane Keller said. “The one common thread [between students] is that they all ride in cars with their parents, friends, etc. Part of being mindful and present in our lives is to be open and aware.”
Students will have the opportunity to pick up free wristbands and decals with a short message to promote road safety: “Think. See. Be.” With this fundraiser, L.I.F.E hopes to emphasize the importance of awareness when driving, especially since many students are new to driving.
“I think a lot of drivers on this campus take it for granted that they have this privilege, but we would just really like to get out this message to be aware, stay aware, and know that you can affect a lot of lives when you’re driving,” L.I.F.E. board member Joseph Wang (12) said.
Several students reflected about the significance of careful driving after the meeting.
“I think that as many of us teenagers are getting our licenses and beginning to drive, safe driving is especially important for us to promote and practice in order to minimize further injuries or lives lost from unsafe driving,” said Anika Gupta (11), who sported wristbands throughout the day.
While wristbands are distributed for free in the Edge during lunch this week, donations are encouraged to support the cause.
![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)
