![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.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)
Students from each grade compete in the annual dodgeball competition
Senior Srivinay Irrinki throws a gatorskin ball and the final four freshmen standing. The class wanted to uphold the reputation of the seniors in the dodgeball event.
Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors competed in the annual dodgeball spirit event in the gymnasium during Wednesday long lunch.
Each game lasted for three minutes, and at the end of the three minutes, a winner would be chosen based on the number of players still standing. The games are a best of three, meaning that the first team to win two games wins the competition.
The juniors took on the freshmen for the first game of the tournament, and the seniors competed against the sophomores.
The juniors were thrilled for the first major spirit event of the year, expressed through their loud chants in which they screamed, “I believe that we will win!”
“Dodgeball is fun and it’s like a big class event, so it’s always fun to just do these kinds of things with your classmates,” junior Edward Sheu said.
This excitement led to an increase in confidence in some students.
“I think we are going to win because we are better than the other classes,” Prithvi Gudapati (11) said.
The juniors defeated the freshmen in the first two games, getting almost the entire freshmen team out. In the second game, the seniors took on the sophomores for the final competition of the day.
The seniors dodgeball players, all wearing their class t-shirts, ran into the gymnasium rooting for their class.
“It’s just really awesome to play for the senior team because we know we’re going to beat everyone,” Nathan Dalal (12) said.
The seniors defeated the sophomores by taking advantage of their opponents with their aggressiveness, leading to their consecutive victories against the sophomores.
The senior class will face off against the juniors for to move on in the dodgeball tournament next Wednesday at 12 p.m in the gymnasium. The winner of that game will face off against the faculty.
Varun Baldwa is a senior and Managing editor for TALON Yearbook. This is Varun's fourth year on staff. In his free time, Varun enjoys volunteering, listening...