![“[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)
Debate teacher named coach of the year
Upper School public forum debate coach Carol Green was presented the national Coach of the Year award at the Blake Debate Tournament in Minneapolis, Minnesota in late December. Green was also given the Brother Polowy Excellence in Coaching Award by the Holy Cross School in New Orleans at a tournament in early October.
Each year in December, The Blake School hosts the last tournament of the year where the school recognizes a coach of the year. Members of the high school community nominate possible honorees, and then previous winners of the award vote upon a recipient. One of the specific reasons Green was recognized in addition to being a successful coach was her contribution to the high school debate community.
“I’ve done curricular work, I’ve done videos, and I’ve reached out to community members,” she said of her achievements. “Also, students at tournaments without coaches can feel comfortable coming up to me and asking for advice.”
Public forum co-captain Kevin Duraiswamy (12) commented on Green’s dedication and accomplishment.
“Ms. Green spends countless hours working with the debaters, planning debate trips, and traveling to the debate tournaments with us almost every weekend–in addition to all the work she does every school day – and it’s very pleasing to see that she has been recognized and honored for all this hard work,” he said.
Green gives credit to the nationally recognized debate program at Harker.
“It’s a successful program; it sets a lot of national standards,” Green said. “When I started coaching public forum, it did not look the same way it does now.”
Senior and public forum co-captain Neil Khemani expressed high hopes for the debate team, which has excelled at tournaments locally and across the country this school year.
“We are extremely proud of debate and we are sure the team is only going to excel from here on out. We have already had a bunch of teams qualify for the Tournament of Champions,” he said.
Since coming to Harker nine years ago, Carol Green has taught public speaking and argumentation at both the sixth grade and high school level. She was originally exposed to speech and debate in high school.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on Jan. 27, 2014
Vivian Isenberg, a senior, is the Humor & Satire editor on Harker Aquila. She was a member of the yearbook staff her freshman year and has been on...