![“[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)
Ten Harker students recognized as Intel semifinalists
Office of Communications
The ten Intel semifinalists stand in front of Nichols Hall. They were recognized for their research and awarded $1000 each.
Ten Upper School seniors were named semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search competition (STS), the largest number of recipients of any California school and the second-highest number in the country.
This year’s winners are:
Vikas Bhetanabhotla
Stephanie Chen
Christopher Fu
Anika Gupta
Saachi Jain
Sreyas Misra
Preethi Periyakoil
Rahul Sridhar
Vikram Sundar
Albert Zhao
Only 300 students out of nearly 1800 nationwide were selected as semifinalists and are judged based on a full-length research report in categories ranging from bioinformatics to astronomy. Each semifinalist is awarded $1000 personally and $1000 for their school.
Science Department Chair Anita Chetty was “thrilled” to hear the news, but stressed that the award recognizes the multidisciplinary efforts of research.
“This truly is something for the whole school to celebrate,” said Chetty. “To effectively communicate your findings in a 24-page paper draws upon skills learned through our librarians, our English teachers and our history teachers. All the faculty share in this important achievement.”
Finalists for the STS competition will be announced on Jan. 22 and will compete for a $100,000 grand prize in Washington D.C.
Apoorva Rangan (12) is the Editor-in-Chief of The Winged Post and a fourth-year staff member. She has previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor...