![“[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)
Drop in dress-up: Students show lack of support for Multicultural Day
On the last day of Global Empowerment and Outreach (GEO) club week, less than 10 percent of the students participated in the theme: multicultural dress-up.
Those who chose to dress up represented their country by displaying it to others at school.
Various cultures were represented including Hawaiian, Indian, Judaism, and many more. Students were able to check in their costumes during lunch at the GEO booth and enter a raffle for gift cards.
GEO Club President Amie Chien (12) expressed that she was disappointed in the lack of student participation.
“I think it’s because it was a Friday and we didn’t really have time in between to make announcements,” she said.
Spanish teacher Abel Olivas echoed a similar thought regarding the decrease from last year in participation.
“Somehow I feel like it’s not on our radar as much. It used to be very clear like this week is multicultural week,” he said. “It’s easy for something to get put on the back burner for you if especially it’s not quite brought to your attention as it used to be.”
The students who dressed up wanted to proudly exhibit their respective cultures while still having a fun time wearing traditional clothes.
“I’m really proud of my culture and I want to tell and show people about it,” Anna Levine (11) said, representing Judaism.
Sophomore Jai Ahuja, who dresses up every year, decided to participate because he feels that it is important to embrace his culture.
“My grandparents are from [North India] and they really like to see me represent my culture,” he said.
Unlike Jai, freshman Sanil Rajput decided not to dress up because he did not have any clothing appropriate to wear to school.
As a member of the GEO club, Jenny Chen (12) took this day as an opportunity to represent her Chinese background.
“I think it’s just nice to have one day to celebrate the multiculture inside Harker,” she said.
Next Thursday, GEO’s cultural show and HOSCARs will be held as a combined talent show.
Jacqui Villarreal (12) is the Editor-in-Chief of TALON. She is in her fourth year of staff, and has previously been Photo Editor and People Editor. Jacqui’s...
Shannon Su is the Managing Editor and Executive News Director of Harker Aquila. She joined the program as a reporter her freshman year and has held many...