![“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)
Niki Iyer wins Santa Clara County girl athlete of the week
Niki runs in the Crystal Springs race, which she lead wire to wire. She felt that it was one of her most challenging races because of her unfamiliarity with the course.
Setting a school record, Nikitha Iyer (9) became the San Jose Mercury News’ Santa Clara County girl athlete of the week in the Crystal Springs Sierra Invitational on Saturday, October 12.
Niki, a freshman, ran the 2.95 mile Crystal springs course in eighteen minutes and three seconds, breaking the school record by 50 seconds. Iyer led the race wire to wire, placing first at the meet and ranking tenth all-time among the freshman who have ever raced at Crystal Springs.
“It was a very challenging race because I’ve never been there before,” Niki said. “I was really intimidated because there were really fast people and almost legendary people there. I was really scared and nervous.”
Each week, San Jose Mercury News awards two athletes, one girl and one boy, for his or her exceptional performance in the particular sport he or she plays. Many other Upper School students have been athletes of the week in the past, such as Daniza Rodriguez (‘13) for basketball and Sumit Minocha (‘13) for track.
“Niki is a fine young runner, very coach-able. Few runners her age can commit to running so fast and not be afraid to take the lead in big races”, said Coach Chisam in an email interview. “She has set three course records this year. The exciting thing is that this is just the beginning of a beautiful athletic career for Niki at Harker.”
Niki’s received her award two weeks before the end of the cross country season. The team will run in two weeks at the league finals to see if they qualify for CCS.
“I’m really proud about it because I expected to be athlete of the week in senior year. It’s pretty cool that I got chosen as a freshman,” Niki said.
Niki has always had a passion for running ever since the age of three. She hopes to follow her mother’s footsteps who has been a youth olympic athlete herself.
“Dont be nervous,” she said as advice to fellow runners. “Stress takes the energy out of you. Run with the techniques you know best.” Niki’s goal is to reach state championships and to continue winning as many races as she can.
The cross country team will race next on Thursday.
Sharanya Balaji (12) is the Editor-In-Chief for Harker Aquila and has been on staff for the past three years. Additionally, during her freshman year she...