![“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)
SPIRIT WEEK: Spring rally
Spirit Club hosts annual Spring Rally
The freshman class participates in the traditional “scream off,” in which they placed third.
The freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors gathered on Davis field today to compete in a variety of class events in the annual spring spirit rally.
The rally started off with a cheerleading routine and dances from the freshmen and sophomore classes with their respective themes of Oldies-Disco and Disney-Indie.
These events were followed by the “scream-off,” the student council relay race, and a performance of “Pompeii” by Bastille from jazz band, featuring lead singer Julia Wang (11).
“The relay race was hilarious especially when the class presidents threw the cheese balls on the ASB officers’ faces covered with whipped cream,” said Spirit member Leon Chin (11).
Though the junior class dance was intended to come next in the afternoon’s lineup, technical sound issues interfered, and the senior class stepped in to show off their tribal-jazz dance. A performance from the Junior Varsity Dance Troupe and the juniors’ Bollywood and mariachi routine concluded the afternoon’s events.
Dancer and co-choreographer for the junior class, Savi Joshi, felt that it was lucky that her class chose the same theme of Bollywood two years in a row.
“I absolutely love Bollywood and really enjoyed doing it for a second year. I also loved choreographing with Anokhi and Nikita,” said Savi. “We felt really constrained on time and put the dance together last minute, but it seems to have gone pretty well anyways.”
Students were not the only ones involved in the afternoon’s festivities. Faculty members appeared in the class dances and assisted with covering student council members with whipped cream for the relay race. The race began with the task of filling up a cup of water on a student’s head from a bucket with only a sponge. Next, student council participants were required to throw a lacrosse ball back and forth before throwing cheese puffs at the whipped creamed faces of the ASB government.
The third grade eagle buddies joined the sophomore class for the rally today and even took part in the screaming competition, a favorite for many students.
Senior Mabel Luo congratulates her class on their performances at the rally.
“I think that the seniors were amazing. My favorite parts of the rally were the scream off and the end of the senior dance because we got everyone involved and put up a really unified show,” she said.
After the organized performances had concluded, the students and faculty came together to dance on the field to the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, an event that occurred on all four campuses, including Harker preschool.
At the beginning of the event, emcee and chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine and the spirit co-Presidents, Katy Sanchez (11) and Julia Wang (11), announced that the Spirit week standings showed the junior class in the lead, followed by the seniors and sophomores tied for second, and the freshmen in last place.
The final class rankings will be announced at Monday’s school meeting.
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