![“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)
Bright lights. Rolling cameras. Cultural fashion. Sarina Vij (10) won first place out of ten other competitors the Miss India Star Scholarship Pageant organized by India Waves TV Network & Swagat Foundation.
“I learned about [the pageant] from the Indian Newspaper,” she said. “I thought it would be a great opportunity and I decided to participate in the pageant in order to improve my public speaking skills and showcase my talent.”
This experience being her first pageant, Sarina did not expect to win the competition. “My attitude was to have fun, meet new friends, and be confident on stage,” she said. “I was also one of the youngest competitors. Knowing that I was competing against some twenty-four year olds was quite intimidating.”
There were four segments of the event: a Western and Eastern clothing modeling segment, a talent competition, and a Q&A interview portion.
For the Western and Eastern pieces, she chose to model a white gown and a traditional pink Indian sari, respectively.
In the third segment, the talent competition, she sang one of her favorite songs, “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion. “All I really needed to do for that was picture Leonardo DiCaprio in my head and the song flowed very nicely,” she said.
The final section of the competition, which comprised of an interview, did not seem difficult to her. “I did not really prepare for the Q&A portion as Harker Speech and Debate really helped me become a more confident and eloquent speaker,” Sarina said.
Overall, Sarina felt that she did not have to transform herself to win the title. “Over the years, Harker has groomed me to be the best that I can be. Being involved in singing groups such as Choir, Vivace, and Harmonics in Middle School allowed me to explore my singing ability, and take it to the next level. Harker Speech and Debate gave me confidence to speak spontaneously on stage. Being involved in the Harker Fashion Show enabled me to carry myself on stage with grace and elegance,” she said. “All in all, I owe it to Harker for allowing me to explore my talents and giving me the platform to pursue them.”
As a result of winning the competition, Sarina won $5,000 in scholarship money as well as an internship at the India Waves TV Network office. “This amazing opportunity will enable me to address current youth issues, youth achievements, and will allow me to promote culture and education in our community,” she said.
As of now, Sarina is not interested in participating in any more pageants for a while, but instead wants to focus on her academics, debate, and swimming.
Overall, she appreciates what the pageant allowed her to learn about herself and society.
Sarina said, “This experience allowed me to realize my potential, enabled me to improve my weaknesses, and gave me an insight to the strength within me that I never knew existed,” she said. “I’m so glad that I entered this competition because I was so caught up in studying all the time. It made me realize that we have to nurture ourselves to become educated, presentable, confident, talented as well as being poised and graceful at the same time.”
