![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.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)
New clubs take the stage at Club Fair
As returning clubs like Key Club, Interact, and DECA made their presence known to students at Club Fair during Long Lunch today, several new clubs made their debut as well.
Magic and Cardistry Club
After spending the summer in Chicago practicing magic with his brother, junior Johnny Trinh founded the Magic and Cardistry Club to pass down what he learned to other students.
“I thought I might like to share the secrets. I’m not a type of person that can keep secrets so easily, so I really want a place where magicians can practice, share, and perform for friends,” Johnny said.
Magic and Cardistry Club meets during the second half of Long Lunch every week in math department head Anthony Silk’s room and plans to film videos and perform tricks for students later in the year.
“If you have a girl on your ‘hitlist,’ [joining Magic and Cardistry Club to impress her] would be perfect,” Johnny said.
Harker Algorithm Club
“Too often, we do programming just to do well on a programming exam or ace an [AP Computer Science] exam, but the thing is that programming is much more important than that because you can use it outside the classroom,” president of Harker Algorithm Club David Lin (12) said.
Lawrence Li (11) founded the club along with David to teach students real-world applications of programming to help them prepare for life outside of Harker. David cited finance as an example of one of the topics they would discuss.
Harker Algorithm Club will meet in chemistry teacher Robbie Korin’s room every other Wednesday.
Cricket Club
After noticing the lack of cricket at Harker, Chirag Aswani (12) sought to bring the sport to the students.
“There’s not many teams in the US that play a quality cricket game, but here at Harker, we’ll give you that quality game [in Cricket Club],” Chirag said.
Though Cricket Club plans to meet regularly on either Davis or Rosenthal field from 11:30-12:00 during Long Lunch, there will be meetings once a month in English teacher John Docherty’s room to watch and discuss cricket games while eating free food.
Spoken Word Club
Rudy Francisco. Omar Holmon. Kait Rokowski. Maybe the next big name in spoken word poetry will come from Spoken Word Club founded by juniors Aarti Kheskani and Kaity Gee.
“I started getting into Spoken Word poetry because of Kaity,” Aarti said. “It’s not just reading it but it’s really like giving a piece of your soul to your audience rather than putting it on a piece of paper.”
Those looking to express themselves through spoken word poetry can attend meetings in English teacher Ohad Paran’s room. Meeting times are still tentative.
Spoken Word Club hopes to bring in guest speakers, such as Sarah Kay, who founded Project V.O.I.C.E to teach and inspire others using spoken word poetry as a medium, to speak to students at Harker.
Alex Jang, Student Life Editor for the TALON Yearbook, is a senior this year and has been a part of journalism for three years. In his free time, he enjoys...