![“[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)
Beauty Without a Price club collects Halloween costumes for underprivileged children
Juniors Mariam Sulakian, Avni Barman, and Riya Godbole announce the Halloween costume drive at school meeting this morning. The drive is collecting costumes for children of all ages and will continue through the beginning of next week.
The Beauty Without a Price club is currently collecting Halloween costumes to donate to underprivileged children in the area.
New this year, the club was created by juniors Avni Barman, Riya Godbole, and Mariam Sulakian to provide children at local shelters with childhood experiences, like receiving a costume for Halloween, that they may not otherwise have access too. Because it is still relatively unknown, it partnered with Key Club for this drive.
As announced at last week’s class meetings and again at today’s school meeting, costumes for all ages will be collected until the beginning of next week and donated to Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments (SAVE) and Tri-City Homeless Coalition, shelters located in Fremont.
“It’s just something as simple as donating costumes, but we hope to make [the children] happy and give them something to look forward to on Halloween,” Mariam said. “Especially for the kids in the shelter, it’s just a way to make them happy.”
They chose to focus on Halloween costumes for their first drive because of the childhood traditions and memories that accompany the holiday.
“Trick-or-treating and dressing up and going out with friends is something we all take for granted, so we wanted to help give underprivileged kids that opportunity as well,” Riya said.
Throughout the year, the club plans on hosting girls’ night out events at shelters, during which they will do the girls’ hair, nails, and make up and play dress up with them. In the spring, they will host similar events to help high school girls prepare for prom. Male club members will also organize activities for the boys at the shelter so that they are included.
There is an orange bin located in Manzanita where students and faculty can drop off any costumes they wish to donate.
Sheridan Tobin is the co-Editor in Chief of The Winged Post. She is a senior and this is her fourth year on staff. She was the Global Editor and Opinion...