![“[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 Board of Trustees and Board of Fellows match towards the Events Center
The Events Center received a major fundraising push when the Board of Trustees and Board of Fellows created a second match in which they will match Annual Giving campaign contributions, in addition to the already established Rothschild match.
Four months ago, Jeff and Marieke Rothschild pledged to match donations to the Capital Campaign to up to $10 million.
The Boards of Trustees and Fellows established a fund dedicated to the Events Center – a second match – to match all the donations contributed to the Annual Giving campaign.
During an all-faculty meeting on May 7, the faculty was given the opportunity to make donations to Annual Giving as well as to the Rothschilds match. In that meeting, a shift in donations occurred.
“We saw a trend happening; many of the members were shifting all or most of the funding to the match,” said Executive Director of Advancement Joe Rosenthal.
The Annual Giving fund provides $1.66 million in student expenditures for drama productions and debate and athletic funding, that if it does not acquire as much as it normally does, it could be devastating to the program.
The Board of Trustees and the Board of Fellows then decided to match Annual Giving donations, which will go towards student-related payments. The Rothschilds will match the Capital Campaign donation, which will go towards the funding for the Events Center. When a pledge is made to Annual Giving with a value at least as much as a previous gift and any contribution is given to the Capital Campaign, both gifts will be matched.
For example, someone previously gave $1000 to Annual Giving. The donor then recently pledged at least $1000 to Annual Giving and also made a $500 pledge to the Capital Campaign. After making both of these donations, the Boards matched the patron’s most recent Annual Giving donation of $1000, and the donor’s original $1000 went to the student expenditures as it did previously.
The $500 Capital Campaign pledge along with the Rothschilds’ match of $500 is donated to the Events Center. Donations can be made once a year for up to three years.
Rosenthal believes that this pivotal second match will greatly push the fundraising closer to its goal. “[Because the] Boards have made a commitment to matching the amount of money [from Annual Giving], we’ll be able to raise and apply it towards meeting the match for the Capital Campaign,” he said. “That will hope- fully be the five million dollar mark.”
The Family Alumni Picnic on Oct. 12 will mark the deadline for the match and reveal the total money fundraised.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on August 29, 2014.
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...
Elisabeth Siegel (12) is the editor-in-chief of the Winged Post. This is her fourth year in Journalism, and she especially loves production nights and...