![“[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)
Diane Main, Assistant Director of Instructional Technology, gave a speech about “Your LIFE Online” to the class of 2015 on Thursday in the Nichols auditorium for the juniors’ second LIFE assembly.
Topics Main covered included maintaining a digital footprint, keeping online privacy, cyberbullying, managing time wisely, avoiding plagiarism and fair use, minimizing distractions, and limiting screen-time before bed. She made her presentation interactive by encouraging small group discussions and short surveys in between topics.
“I think that it’s easy for people to forget that just because that something is online doesn’t make it sort of disappear and stop existing after a while,” Main said. “These things don’t go away.”
Main said that she emphasized privacy to the juniors because they will soon be applying for colleges and summer internships. She warned them to be careful of what they post online because anyone, including future employers and college admissions officers, can see it.
During her presentation, Main used an analogy of a reputation to a bank in order to stress the importance of maintaining good relationships.
Like Main, students agreed on the importance of online safety and confidentiality, especially given social media’s frequently changing privacy policies.
“Considering the privacy page changes [often,] it’s a good idea that we review once a year,” Kevin Su (11) said.
Other students also felt it wise to start becoming more mindful of the repercussions of social media.
“We have so much on our minds like school and extracurricular activities that sometimes we don’t take the time out of our day to actually realize what the big picture important things are,” Helen Wu (11) said.
Those with questions can contact Diane Main at [email protected], (408) 345-9654, or her Twitter MrsMainHarker. Meanwhile, her presentation which includes links to other articles can be found on the “Class of 2015” Athena2 page.
