![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.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)
Students with costumes dancing on library tables, school principal wearing an eagle head, and music blasting in the library. An unimaginable scene? Think again, as this was exactly what many saw on Wednesday as they gathered outside the library window after school.
On February 27, members of the girls and boys basketball teams along with other students and Upper School Division Head Butch Keller recorded a version of the Harlem Shake in the library.
“Harlem Shake,” originally a single released by Baauer in May of 2012, is a video meme that has gone viral this past month. Various groups have made parodies of the video displaying the same concept: a sole person dances while others are not paying attention, then the music changes and suddenly everyone is dancing.
With the help of Nick Gassmann, Pam Dickinson, MaryEllis Deacon, Eric Marten, and other members of the Office of Communication and the administration, the Upper School completed the entire process from planning to releasing within 48 hours.
“We were trying to make it look like a security camera, just observing the library,” Multimedia Specialist and videographer Eric Marten said. “It basically looked like the library was packed full of students that were really trying to study hard and then have Butch Keller come in and just have everyone go bananas after it […] Break loose from all the studying and show the fun side of the kids at Harker.”
The video took a total of six takes to shoot, three for the first part and three for the second. In between parts, students put on costumes with various props and got in position around the library. Many of the students who participated agreed that participating in the video was a fun and unique experience.
“I think it was really interesting just because a lot of people think of us as more like academic but [the video] kind of shows that we can have fun on our own too,” Christina Wong (11) said.
Some students believe that the Upper School was late in making the video compared to other groups, but several were still glad that one was eventually made.
“I think Harker was kind of behind the curve because everyone was already doing Harlem Shake videos and a bunch of other schools had done it,” John Hughes (11) said.
However, many students thought that the Harlem Shake videos had not lost their popularity just yet and enjoyed watching one that involved their peers.
“Harlem Shake is still popular; it hasn’t gotten any less popular from the time it started to now,” Lekha Chirala (10) said. “I thought it was pretty creative and unique. It was really funny to watch and it was cool to see Mr. Keller go crazy.”
The video is posted on Harker’s YouTube channel and linked through Facebook as well as the school website. It has already received 5,030 views in the past two days, making it the video with the third highest number of views on the channel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM5wl5_DaUA
![“Probably the most important thing that I can do is to help raise awareness amongst youth because [students] are the ones that sadly are going to inherit this mess. It’s important for us, the people who helped take the planet to the place it is now, to really lean in and make a difference about this issue," Moss said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC_9315-e1778880890147-1200x873.jpg)
