![“[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)
Two alumni release NextSpot in the app store
NextSpot offers a convenient application for connecting users and organizing everyday meetups. Alumni Daanish Jamal (’12) and Adhir Ravipati (’05) started building the app in mid-2013.
Alumni Daanish Jamal (‘12) and Adhir Ravipati (‘05) released the app NextSpot on both Apple and Android markets in February.
After bonding over football at family get-togethers, the two friends talked about forming the app over the summer of 2013, in order to making coordinating get-togethers simpler.
Daanish was skeptical over starting a small company.
“We started our initial conversation June 2012, so soon after I graduated, and at that time we didn’t really have any intentions of pursuing,” Daanish said. “Once I had gotten into college, I realized that college was the perfect playground for an app like this.”
The free app, developed by NextSpot Inc., is designed to help users organize everyday meetups in a collaborative progress.
“The mobile application offers an intuitive process for contacting groups of people and coordinating decisions more efficiently than text-messages, messaging apps, social media, or event-creation services,” says the company. “In essence, NextSpot aims to be the primary service for organizing the full spectrum of group activities.”
Initially, the app works on an Evite-like planning base– by using a user-friendly operating system, the host selects a proposal event, time, and location, which can be customized or found via Yelp. After being invited and creating an account, other group members can discuss and change the details via chat system.
NextSpot’s innovative system for connecting users is optimal for smartphones and other touch based devices.
“I think NextSpot sounds like a great tool for keeping in touch with outside of school friends who we don’t often meet up with because of our busy lives,” Alayna Richmond (9) said.
High schools and colleges are the ideal target audience for the app due to the students’ busy schedules.
“High school kids are definitely active in their social lives- the weekends tend to be the primary focus for them,” Adhir said.
Originally, the two created the app for a different student market. “We had college students in mind at the start, but there are a lot of utilities for the high school students. High school is another kind of market that makes a lot of sense for this app,” Daanish said.
For the future, the company plans to fix the bugs and crashes that have been reported on its site, and afterwards begin marketing the app in new and creative ways. Utilizing Daanish’s college as a testing ground, the two plan to “stay engaged with Harker as much as we can to get a high school perspective.”
NextSpot is currently available on the iOS and Android markets. All questions and feedback are encouraged to be sent to [email protected]
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on March 12, 2014.
Kaity Gee (12) is the assistant Editor in Chief of Wingspan. Serving as a reporter for TALONWP freshman year, Kaity has written pieces for Winged Post...
Raveena Kapatkar (12) is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Harker Aquila. She is a senior and this is her fourth year on staff. As a freshman, she was a reporter...