![“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)
STEM Week: A Showcase of Science Clubs
WISTEM and nine other clubs and organizations hosted the annual STEM Week last week along with fundraising for the Children’s Club at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Tanzania, which is where Upper School students visit in the summer.
The Green Team, Triple Helix Club, Chemistry Club, Medical Club, Research Club, Clean Tech Club, Math Club, Female Empowerment Club (FEM), and the students traveling on the Tanzania trip collaborated with WiSTEM on the week while the entire event was led by WiSTEM officers Daniela Lee (11) and Kristine Lin (12).
This year, the clubs participating in STEM Week are raising funds for the Children’s Club at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Tanzania by raising money through bake sales after school. St. Elizabeth’s Hospital began its Children’s Club to help children through understanding the meaning of HIV statuses.
“[STEM Week] also helps bring awareness to problems around the world. What we are doing here, we are helping out HIV kids,” said Kristine.
The week’s events began with an activity led by FEM Club on Monday during both lunch periods in which students had an option of taking a quiz on abortion statistics or writing science facts on cards for elementary school students.
“I think it’s really fun, and I think that they try to do a lot of involvement between [students] and the actual people who do the demos,” Neymika Jain (9) said.
During Tuesday’s lunch periods, the STEM organizations held a lava lamp station for students to make these lamps with various supplies. Since the booth had minor difficulties, FEM club opened their activity once again as a backup. In the second lunch period, the lava lamp activity booth was functioning properly.
“The lava lamp event had a technical issue during the first lunch today, but it was up and running during the second lunch,” said Daniela.
The main event of STEM Week, the STEM Fair, was held on Wednesday during long lunch. All science clubs involved in STEM Week created exhibitions and posters in Nichols Atrium for students and faculty to enjoy.
“Number one, [STEM Week] raises the interest in sciences, especially for young women who are interested in engineering and mathematics. This is a great showcase for the clubs and also for the students to show the demos as far as chemistry experiments are concerned,” chemistry teacher Dr. Smriti Koodanjeri said.
On Thursday, these students hosted the lunch activity that included a crossword puzzle about the Children’s Club.
STEM Week concluded on Friday with a Fermi Problem, an estimation problem involving analysis. Students who solved the problem correctly won prizes in each lunch period.
“STEM Week showcases all the science clubs on campus and it helps expose us to different activities that Harker offers,” Kristine said.
During advisory, extra help periods, and after school, the STEM Week clubs sold baked goods such as brownies, cake pops, and other sweets in order to raise money for the St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Tanzania. Students enjoyed participating in activities during lunch and purchasing food from the bake sales while gaining awareness about world issues.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on March 12, 2014
Ayushi Gautam (12) is the Managing Editor of Harker Aquila. She has been a part of the journalism program since her freshman year. She was the Social Media...
Kshithija “KJ” Mulam (12) is the Winged Post Editor-in-Chief. Serving as the Winged Post News Editor in her junior year, Winged Post Photo Editor in...