![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)
Homecoming preparations begin
With the Homecoming game approaching in about three weeks, students have already begun preparations for Homecoming festivities.
The four classes will compete for first place throughout the week of Sept. 29 to Oct. 4 with their painted eagle, parade float, and skit. There are also small spirit event competitions that will occur during lunch and the rally events such as the homecoming court obstacle course, tug of war, and scream-off. Classes also receive additional points for dressing in their “mythical city” attire on their designated dress-up day. The seniors will be representing Batman’s Gotham City, the juniors with J.K. Rowling’s Hogwarts, the sophomores with Frozen’s Arendelle, and the freshmen with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
This past week, classes finalized their class t-shirt designs. These shirts are to be worn for the homecoming and also the spring spirit rallies. Typically designed with a catch phrase or picture relating to the grade, the seniors’ shirt took a different turn. It has a hand-drawn smiley face adorning the front and a customizable hand-written back with “(name) has seniuritis.”
“I can honestly say I’ve never seen a class shirt as a hand drawn smiley face, so I think it definitely makes our grade stick out in some way or another,” said senior spirit commissioner Arjun Ashok. “A lot of the advisors liked it a lot due to it’s simplicity, and who doesn’t love a happy person?”
The junior class also finalized its t-shirt design on Monday night after student council made an error allowing students to vote multiple times on Athena2, which led to unequal results. The final vote was between a paint splattered “LIV1NG LE6ENDS” and “HOOL16ANS”, in which “LIV1NG LE6ENDS” won.
Even without a student council, the freshman class was able to decide on a t-shirt design. Justin Su (9) and Maxwell Woehrmann (9) designed the class of 2018’s t-shirt with the words “WE ARE INCRED18LE” in the front and this quote from Disney’s The Incredibles: “NO CAPES.”
In addition to hosting the dodgeball tournament today, which officially begins the homecoming battle for first place, Spirit club had its first meeting where they brainstormed ideas for the homecoming court obstacle course and made rules for the activities. They have also been trying to increase participation in class competitions.
“The spirit board’s been working really hard to make homecoming really fun, and thanks to their work I think this year homecoming is gonna come together really well,” junior spirit commissioner Edward Sheu said.
Homecoming court nominations will be posted on Friday and the final round of dodgeball will happen next Wednesday.
Daphne Liang is a reporter for TALON Yearbook. She is a sophomore and has been a part of the journalism program since her freshman year. Daphne is also...