![“[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)
College information sessions begin this week for seniors
A representative from Chapman University hosts an information session to prospective seniors looking to apply. Seniors can sign up for these sessions on Naviance.
College representatives will visit Harker for the next two months for information sessions. Starting the visits, John Hopkins and Chapman University visited prospective senior applicants during third and fourth period.
College visits are designed to help students who are interested in certain colleges, but who are unable to attend the actual colleges themselves. Up to four colleges will be coming to the campus on any particular day. Seniors can sign up for college visits on their Naviance page.
Some students responded positively to these colleges visits.
“It’s convenient because even if you’re a little bit interested, you can just go for a short time,” Leeza Kuo (12) said. “You don’t have to spend a whole weekend traveling somewhere and spend long periods of time in the car, like when I visited colleges on the east coast.”
Others have jumped on these college visits as an opportunity to demonstrate interest to certain universities and to aid them in making final decisions for colleges.
“A lot of people think about the name of the university and the numbers,” Ashin Mehta (12) said. “But it’s actually really important to see what you’re getting yourself into. Depending on what you want to do, that’s your next four to eight years.”
Though most seniors have a free period that allow them to attend a few sessions without worry, a majority of senior students are required to notify their teachers in advance, telling them that they will be missing class that day.
Students, like Hannah Bollar (12), believe that the constant skipping of classes could impact students’ performances in class.
“You might have a really hard class that you don’t want to miss, or a test that day that you might not able to move,” Hannah said. “And if you have athletics, they might complicate it some more.”
Some sessions have a handful of people signed up, but others, such as the Washington University in St. Louis or Santa Clara University sessions already have over 50 people in them.
Colleges visits will continue through September and October, and end on Nov. 6. Seniors interested in attending sessions can look at their Naviance page for a list, which will be updated throughout the next two months.
Stacey Chao (12) is the Sports Editor for the TALON Yearbook. Having been on the staff for four years, Stacey was a reporter for her first two years and...