![“[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)
Activist gives presentation to Upper School journalism
Journalist and activist Ruchira Gupta, founder of the Apne Aap organization addressing sex-trafficking in India, gave a presentation to Upper School Journalism classes last Thursday.
Gupta spent her adolescence and young adulthood as a journalist for newspapers in India. She then began an 18-month effort to film the documentary The Selling of Innocents, which detailed the sex-trafficking supply line from villages in Nepal to the city of Bombay. For this documentary, she received an Emmy for outstanding investigative journalism in 1996.
According to Gupta, her goal in her work as journalist or activist is to give a voice to the voiceless.
“I believe that stories break the silence,” she said.
She switched to full-time activism after the documentary and focused on providing resources for self-empowerment and independence to disenfranchised women and their families, in order to get them out of the intergenerational sex-trafficking system.
“It really felt like modern day slavery,” Gupta said. “Prostitution is commercial rape.”
The organization she founded, Apne Aap, is dedicated to providing victims of the sex-trafficking industry as well as their families with “Four Essential Rights,” which are the right to legal protection, education, a dignified livelihood, and safe and independent housing.
To learn more about Gupta’s work and the Apne Aap organization, visit the website here: http://apneaap.org/ .
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...