![“[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)
Students recognized at Synopsys Science and Technology Championship
Thirty students won various awards for their research projects at the Synopsys Science and Technology Championship, on March 12 at the San Jose Convention Center.
Students from ninth to twelfth grade had projects ranging from the topics of computers and mathematics to environmental sciences.
Junior Ankita Pannu, who worked on facilitating the navigation of online cancer support groups, picked her project after a family member was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Her goal was to assist cancer patients who may not receive all the information that they need from their doctors.
“My project helped me dig deeper into a really interesting area in the world of computer science, artificial intelligence, and natural language processing,” she said. “I really enjoyed working on this project because it is applicable to other realms apart from cancer, and I think it will prove to be useful if incorporated in other areas.”
Others like Vikas Bhetanabhotla (12) researched topics in astrophysics and methods to locate satellite galaxies of Milky Way galactic analogs. His research was centered on identifying whether or not a galaxy was a satellite. He chose his topic because of his interest in physics and computer science.
“Through my algorithms, I was able to identify the most indicative properties in distinguishing a galaxy as a satellite, thus providing a more reliable basis for identification applicable to other cosmological studies,” he said. “Ultimately, my algorithms achieved 97 percent accuracy in identifying satellite galaxies.”
Advisors of the award-winning students Gary Blickenstaff, Chris Spenner, Susan King, and Jeff Sutton guided the students by helping them develop topics and overcome obstacles. The teachers had goals beyond winning awards and recognition for the Synopsys participants.
“I wanted [the students] to have the experience of presenting their work formally to a broad audience, which it turns out the judges at Synopsys are pretty broadly qualified,” said Research and AP Physics C teacher Chris Spenner.
Biology teacher Gary Blickenstaff assisted students with how to do scientific research, which he believes is more involved than most students think.
“[I wanted to help students with] how to deal with issues and overcome them so [that they] can have some success in the research,” he said. “And help them over some of the hurdles and challenges that they faced,” he added.
Synopsys winners will find out what awards they won at the high school awards ceremony on Sunday at the Campbell Heritage Theater.
Priscilla Pan is the features editor for the Winged Post and co-creator of In a Nutshell. She is a senior and has been part of the journalism program for...
Stanley Zhao (12) is the business manager of the Winged Post. He is a senior this year. Stanley is part of the math club and is currently conducting a...