![“[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)
Robotics receives new military robot
The Robotics team unpackages the Avatar I Micro tactical robot, which was donated by tech company RoboteX. The machine will be demonstrated at the STEM Fair and local robotics competitions.
With built-in infrared vision, an operating range of 200 meters, a 360 degree pan-tilt zoom camera, and the ability to traverse through land and water, the Avatar I Micro tactical robot is unlike any other machine in Nichols Room 312.
The Robotics team received the robot yesterday as a donation from RoboteX, a technology company based in Sunnyvale that designs and builds robots “focused on solving critical real-world problems,” according to its website.
A few months ago, the Upper School Robotics team contacted RoboteX for the Robotics Speaker Series that was started this year. While RoboteX was unable to present a speaker, the company offered to donate an old version of its Avatar robots: the Avatar I Micro tactical model.
Priced at $7,500, the robot is mostly used for military surveillance and was one of the first prototypes for RoboteX’s Avatar line.
“The most prominent feature is its really good drive train, which means it can travel all sorts of terrain,” said Executive President of Robotics Sarika Bajaj (12). “It’s really unusual for this type of machine because they have lots of difficulty with that in the real world.”
First-year Robotics member Matthew Cheng (9) praises its advanced tactical capabilities as well.
“I think the new robot is really cool,” he said. “It’s been used for the Oakland police and SWAT raids.”
According to Sarika, the robot will be used for promotional media and demonstrated at events, including the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Fair in the second week of February. The robot will also be displayed at local regional competitions to encourage the community to be more involved in STEM.
“It’ll benefit for the club to actually see how an industrial quality professional robot how is built and designed as opposed to how we do things where we typically improvise,” said Brian Oldziewski, one of the three Robotics mentors.
Meeting everyday after school and on Saturdays from 12 to 8 p.m., the Robotics team is currently in its build season that started on Jan. 4 and is preparing for its first competition in March.
A member of the journalism program since freshman year, senior Allison Sun is the Features Editor and Webmaster of Harker Aquila. She was also TalonWP...