![“[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)
Homecoming: the anticipated school tradition is less than two weeks away. At the end of last week, homecoming court results were disclosed for all four classes on the Spirit Bulletin in the Edge.
“Homecoming represents spirituality; teamwork; love. I love Homecoming! It represents our school because it’s so amazing!” sophomore Andrew Kim shouts vigorously.
The week-long elections began with the voting for freshmen prince and princess on Monday and concluded with the casting of ballots for the for the king and queen on Friday. Voting was held outside Manzanita during both 5th and 6th period lunches.
The results are as follows: Tamlyn Doll and Jordan Goheen for the class of 2017, Shreya Sunkara and Dakota McNealy for the class of 2016, and Katy Sanchez and Justin Yen for the class of 2015. Candidates for Queen include Kristine Lin (12), Renu Singh (12), Claudia Tischler (12), and the candidates for King are Adithram Rengaramchandran (12), Andy Wang (12), and Kenneth Zhang (12).
The King and Queen will be revealed at the Homecoming game on Sept. 27. Those not elected as King and Queen will represent the senior class as princes and princesses.
Katy Sanchez (11), Spirit Club President, is the class of 2015 princess. Katy is representing her class at homecoming court for the first time.
“I was pretty surprised [to be elected]; to be honest, I’m kind of nervous for the obstacle course, but it’s also really exciting,” she said. “It represents coming together as a community [to] try to beat all the other classes. It’s just a fun way to start off the year.”
Lyndsey Mitchell (9), who was nominated, was also excited about the prospect of being elected during her first year of high school.
“It means that other people in my grade care about me,” she said. “I was kind of surprised, because I didn’t think anybody voted for me.”
However, not all of the nominees were as eager to participate. Claudia Tischler, one of the representatives for the class of 2014, was not overly enthusiastic when she learned of the news of her election.
“It was sort of exciting; for me it represents bringing family together. I was happy but it was just like ‘okay’,” she said.
For others, Homecoming court does not matter much at all. Freshman Kedar Gupta was nominated to be the prince for the class of 2017 but turned the offer down.
“It was exciting, but I would rather not be nominated. I realized I didn’t want to do it,” Kedar said. “I don’t have a reason.”
In addition to potential participants, some spectators of the event did not consider Homecoming of the utmost importance.
“I feel like a lot of people vote for the nominations only to get couples in or people that are friends. It’s not something super important and a big deal,” said ASB Secretary Vincent Lin (12).
Edward Sheu, sophomore Spirit Coordinator, enjoys homecoming for comedic aspects, but believes that the event is merely a popularity contest.
“It’s just a nice, fun competition to watch your most popular classmates get humiliated on a football field, which is pretty funny,” he said.
Gaurav Kumar (12) will be attending his last homecoming this year; he elaborated on what he thought those on the field represent.
“To me, homecoming nominations are to honor people who are great in our grade, who deserve to be specially recognized for non-academic reasons,” Gaurav said. “I feel like they represent the heart and soul of The Harker School.”
Alex Mo (9) had a different perspective, noting that those elected are role models and should also be academically successful.
“I think [those who are elected] represent a good, well-rounded student at Harker,” Alex said. “Not only do people have to get good grades [so] people would respect you but also you have to be social.”
Despite the setback in the form of a loss of a varsity football team, Homecoming remains an integral part of Harker tradition that both students and alumni look forward to.
The king and queen will be crowned at halftime of the homecoming game, when the entire homecoming court will appear before the crowd. The game will be held at 7 pm on Friday, Sept. 27 against Mount Pleasant High School.
