![“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)
Link Crew members met with their assigned freshmen advisories this Thursday for their first meeting of the year.
As they gathered into small groups around the room, the freshmen advisees turned in permission slips and chatted with friends.
Link Crew members, armed with snacks for their advisories, started the discussion, trying to help the freshmen adjust to life at the Upper School. Link Crew offered advice and anecdotes about their past experiences as freshmen, from handling physics to homework and extracurriculars to sleep.
Explaining what goes on behind the scenes of Link Crew, Claudia Tischler(12) explained that Link Crew meets Tuesdays for about half an hour before school on the weeks of their visits to discuss what members are going to cover that week, and how the
previous advisory encounters had gone. Her fellow Link Crew partner Maya Nandakumar(11) encouraged Dr. Ben Spencer-Cooke’s advisory to “bond as much as possible and become close soon before it’s too late, and to participate in class spirit activities like Homecoming.”
As not many questions were asked, Claudia took this as a sign that school was going well for Spencer-Cooke’s advisory and that the workload was light during the first two weeks of school.
Freshman advisee Maile Chung thought that Link Crew was a helpful way to helping freshmen ease into life at the Upper School.
“We talked and it was actually a lot of fun. They brought snacks and they just asked us how our first week of school was going and it was really helpful,” she said. “They talked about dress code and other topics from the handbook.”
Senior Link Crew member Kianna Bisla explained what the photography, graphic arts, video motion, and AP Studio Art 2-D teacher Joshua Martinez had planned for his advisees.
“Today we just got to know everyone and had food, and since Josh Martinez is the photography teacher, he suggested that we go outside and take really cool pictures,” she said. “He had me help direct them since I’m in his AP class so we went outside
Shah and sat everyone down and did funny poses and set a timer to do a jumping picture.”
Link Crew Members will continue to check in with their freshmen advisories throughout the year, helping them adjust to life at the Upper School and offering advice from their experiences throughout high school.
