![“[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)
May 21 marks the official start of the new ASB council school year. ASB President Arjun Goyal (11), Vice President Sahithya Prakash (11), Secretary Vincent Lin (11), and Treasurer Rohith Bhethanabotla (11) ran the first school meeting of their term earlier today.
Efficiency is the main goal for school meetings, according to the new ASB council. This meeting signified a bright start to the beginning of their term when Vincent noted that the lack of time delay allowed the meeting to end five minutes earlier than scheduled.
Additionally, Sahithya anticipates improving the school meetings not only by making them more efficient, but also by uplifting students’ spirits as they enter the gym.
“There weren’t that many announcements so I think people really liked that,” she said, reflecting on today’s school meeting. “We’re trying to make it more fun so we want to have music playing when people come in on Monday mornings.”
Announcements during the meeting included an awards recognition announcement by Assistant Head of School Jennifer Gargano, clarifying the process in which students receive special awards.
Librarians Lauri Vaughan and Meredith Cranston also issued a library privacy announcement, warning students to check their social networking privacy settings monthly since companies profit off of personal information.
Other changes included the new “eagle nation” announcement crew, consisting of junior athletes who will regularly update the student body on recent athletic accomplishments.
Students particularly enjoyed the efficiency of this meeting and are generally excited for what the new council has to offer.
“I think they’ll do a good job next year because they’ve all had a lot of experience with leading their class meetings,” Sachin Peddada (10) said.
Junior Daniel Pak believes that the council’s past experiences will help them better the school through the projects they plan to implement.
“I am looking forward to seeing how the new ASB will make improvements on what has already been done,” he said.
In regards to the new plans, Arjun hopes to be more project driven throughout his term. Some projects he would like to implement include those that pertain to campus beautification as well as those that will benefit students.
