![“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)
Curbside Crazy event supports new gym and events center
Elizabeth Edwards (11) greets an incoming student as she and other athletes hold signs and wave pom-poms during the Curbside Crazy Event. The event is held to help support the construction of the new Events center.
Fall sports athletes arrived early yesterday morning to help out with a Curbside Crazy event that promoted donations to the new Events Center project.
The event contributed to raising donations for the new performing arts center and gym. Students from multiple fall sports participated by holding up signs and encouraging parents to donate to the cause.
“Hopefully if the parents see that the students are excited about this, maybe they will be excited and continue the strong capital campaign that we have right now,” Athletic Director Dan Molin said.
Yesterday’s Curbside Crazy marks the first of many that will occur every Friday until the Family & Alumni Picnic on Oct. 12. Each Friday will involve a different group that will benefit from the new construction. The event stemmed from a tradition of largely adult volunteers raising awareness for events such as the Picnic.
“The general idea of Curbside Crazies came from the Family & Alumni Picnic where a couple days before the picnic we used to have picnic volunteers standing on the curbside raising awareness for the picnic,” Director of Advancement Joe Rosenthal said. “It seemed to put smiles on people’s faces as they dropped off their kids to see people happy and greeting them cheerfully, and it’s kind of a Friday thing in Silicon Valley.”
The new gym will provide better facilities for athletes in specific sports, such as basketball and volleyball. Freshman Jackie Gao thinks that the new building will encourage and motivate athletes to play well during games.
“People would be cheering them on during home games,” she said. “Knowing that spectators are there to support them gives them hope.”
While basketball and volleyball players will use the new gym, athletes in other sports feel that they are unaffected. Sports such as cross country and tennis will still lack spaces like a track and a court at the Upper School.
“I think one problem we have is that because of our lack of facilities, we’re forced to go to all sorts of places for practices or for matches,” said cross country runner Vivek Sriram (12).
Orchestra performers will greet incoming parents next Friday morning at the front and back drop-off zones. According to Rosenthal, the Annual Giving Campaign currently has more donations than the same time during any previous years.
Kacey Fang (12) is the Managing Editor for The Winged Post. She has been part of the journalism program since freshman year and served as Features Editor...
Ashley Jiang (11) is the photo editor for Winged Post. This is her third year in the journalism program, and she was a reporter her freshman and sophomore...