![“[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)
Lacrosse and baseball games cancelled due to weather
After school, students walk through the puddles that formed today. Because of the bad weather, many athletic games and practices were cancelled.
Poor weather forced the cancellation of a baseball and lacrosse game, as well as numerous practices after school today.
The lacrosse team was scheduled to play Santa Catalina High School. Head Coach Andrew Irvine decided to cancel the game after a discussion with both the athletic director Dan Molin and the other team’s coach.
“We rarely cancel anything in lacrosse, when I played in high school we would play in the snow, down pours of rain, it’s part of the game,” he said. “This was not a league game. We looked at the weather report: there was a severe weather warning from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) saying that there would be really cold weather. There were possible thunderstorms, severe precipitation, and maybe even hail.”
Similarly, the baseball team’s trip to play Trinity Christian in Monterey was cancelled due to the rain.
“We are all really disappointed because we heard that the Monterey field is really nice. It’s a turf field,” team member David Lin (11) said. “We were all very excited, so we were disappointed when we saw the game was rained out.”
Many practices were also cancelled due to the rain. Blackford’s dirt track flooded and thus the track practice was cancelled. Shotput and discus throwers were able to practice on the field outside of the athletic training room.
Additionally, the swim team cancelled its practice.
“I think it’s really quite a shame that practice was cancelled because it doesn’t give us the opportunity to continue improving,” swimmer Delaney Martin (11) said. “Swimming is a sport that requires pretty constant practice in order to maintain speed and technique, so missing a couple days, including weekend days, can be pretty detrimental. However, it’s probably for the best because safety is more important than winning.”
Tennis practice was also cancelled.
Although the softball team was unable to play to on the Blackford field, they moved its practice indoors to the Saratoga Gym. There, the girls worked with athletic trainer Jaron Olson on speed and agility.
NOAA predicts showers for much of the rest of the week.
Alyssa Amick (12) is the Co- Editor in Chief of Harker Aquila. She has been part of the journalism program since her freshman year. Her favorite part of...