![“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)
HBV club hosts fundraiser
The Hepatitis B (HBV) club sold pearl milk tea after school today in efforts to raise money for the Jade Ribbon Campaign’s fight for HBV awareness.
The Hepatitis B (HBV) club hosted a fundraiser selling pearl milk tea after school today to raise awareness for their cause.
According to the Hepatitis B Foundation, HBV ranks the most widespread critical liver disease worldwide. The infection affects over two billion people globally, resulting in about 400 million incurable cases and one million deaths. Currently, one of every 20 people in the United States suffer from the condition. Though facile to contract, HBV can be easily avoided by vaccination.
After pre-ordering 60 drinks from Quickly last week, club presidents Justin Yen (11) and Srivinay Irrinki (11) picked up the tea and set up their booth in the front loading zone after school. Proceeds raised from the fundraiser will be granted to the Jade Ribbon Campaign run by the Stanford Liver Center.
“We wanted to raise awareness for Hepatitis B, because it is a very common disease but not many people know about it,” Srivinay said. “We had stickers on each tea cup with facts about the disease. We are going to donate our proceeds to help any way we can with new research and outreach that will reduce the outbreak of Hepatitis B.”
The charity sale lasted from right after school to about 3:30 p.m. when the tea sold out. Each beverage sold at a price of 3.5 dollars, totaling to around 110 dollars that will be donated.
“I think it’s great that they are selling pearl milk tea to help a great cause,” Isabel Lai (9) said. “Milk tea is really popular so hopefully they got a lot of sales and will donate to the organization.”
Srivinay and Justin came up with the proposal to sell the pearl milk tea long ago, and after gaining support from Upper School Club Coordinator Erik Kallbrier, they finalized their plans.
Among the club members helping out with the fundraiser was Nathan Dalal (11), who signed up in efforts to encourage the club’s plan of outreach.
“Hepatitis B in my opinion is something that is preventable so people need to understand what it is because they can prevent it by getting vaccinations,” Nathan said. “The fundraiser donated money to help increase awareness of the disease and possible preventive measures.”
The club plans to participate in the World Hepatitis Day at Stanford and to continue searching for other outreach events to raise awareness for HBV.
Mariam Sulakian is the Features Editor of Harker Aquila. She has been a member of the journalism program for four years and appreciates the opportunities...
Shannon Su is the Managing Editor and Executive News Director of Harker Aquila. She joined the program as a reporter her freshman year and has held many...