![“[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)
Upper School to host first ever BEcon
Sidhart Krishnamurthi (12), Dhanush Madabusi (11), and Ankur Karwal (11) announced the launch of the Upper School’s first BEcon, a business and entrepreneurship conference, at the school meeting this morning. The event is on Oct. 18 and tickets go on sale starting Wednesday.
Three students announced the launch of the Upper School’s first BEcon, a business and economics conference, at the school meeting this morning.
This event offers an opportunity for students to participate in a variety of workshops, competitions, lectures, and poster presentations. Speakers will include college professors, executives from respective industries, venture capitalists, and students themselves. Students who would like to present can sign up at http://harkerbecon.weebly.com.
Samuel Lepler, one of the advisors for BEcon, looks forward to watching keynote speaker Ran Abramitzky, a Stanford economics professor, as well as playing economics-related games, such as game theory.
“The main goal is for students and really the whole community to have the opportunity to explore business, entrepreneurship, and economics beyond the classroom,” Lepler said. “Watching everyone have fun and be engaged in the concepts is really what I’m most excited about.”
The idea for BEcon was originally created by senior Sidhart Krishnamurthi who has participated in the research symposium for the past three years, but got more involved in business and economics in his junior year.
“I sort of thought about morphing the two and creating the BEcon symposium,” he said. I feel like that would be really good because Harker is a science based institution by nature and now students will be exposed to the business side of it.”
Junior Panny Shan, one of the members in organizing this event, will be running the conference so she won’t be able to participate in the planned activities.
“I’m looking forward to seeing everyone come and seeing everyone compete and seeing the fruits of our efforts over the past few months,” she said.
The event is scheduled for Oct. 18. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday during long lunch for $10. More information can be found on the BEcon website.
Shannon Su is the Managing Editor and Executive News Director of Harker Aquila. She joined the program as a reporter her freshman year and has held many...