![“[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)
The smell of crisp paper money filled the air as the students walked down the hallway to the lower-level vault of the Federal Reserve Bank. On January 10, twenty-one Economics students took a field trip to the Federal Reserve in San Francisco.
After a semester of learning how the Federal Reserve functions through textbooks and class work the students had the chance to see for themselves the various processes that occur in the bank.
At the start of the tour, the group went to the lower level of the building, where the money is stored. On that level, there were rooms that contained dozens of metal boxes of dollar bills that are each worth approximately 46 million dollars. The tour guide also explained some issues involving counterfeiting and the life span of a single bill.
“It was a little overwhelming, seeing all the money,” Ragini Bhattacharya (10) said. “It took me a while to realize the size of the vault[ …]it was intense.”
Back on the main level of the building, the students entered one more room and watched a short video clip on the evolution of the American bills. In this room, there was a collection of hundreds of bills, from the hand written ones made by Benjamin Franklin to the present day ones.
“We got to see firsthand how the Federal Reserve Bank operates,” Economics teacher Peter Itokazu said. “The trip combined the elements of history, science, math, sociology, and economics.”
In addition to the Federal Bank Reserve tour, the students also got to experience San Francisco as they rode cable cars that took them to downtown and made a stop at Ghirardelli Square. Both Economics teachers, Itokazu and Samuel Lepler look forward to doing this again next semester for the incoming Economics classes.
