![“[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)
On April 7-8, two teams of students travelled to Maryland to compete in the national Japan Bowl, bringing back first and second place awards in Level 4 and Level 3 respectively. Japan Bowl is an annual competition hosted by the Japanese Society of Washington D.C. that tests high school students on Japanese language and culture.
“Competing in Japan Bowl […] opened my eyes,” Kimberly Ma (9) said. “I have never had to seriously compete in answering questions as much as possible, and seeing other schools’ performances, especially in the championship round, showed me a completely new world of academics and competition.”
The Level 3 team included Kimberly, Shilpa Nataraj (11), and Team Captain Crystal Chen (11), while the Level 4 team consisted of Lorraine Wong (10), Victoria Liang (12), and Team Captain Tiffany Jang (11). Japanese Teachers Masako Onakado and Keiko Irino coached teams 4 and 3, respectively.
“We have a very hardworking and devoted team. All our teammates have a passion for Japanese culture, which makes the researching and memorizing part of preparations less painful,” Crystal said.
As a prize for being the National Champions in Level 4, Lorraine, Victoria, and Tiffany received a free trip to Japan this summer.
“We won by a fairly slim margin [of five points], but when I found out I was so happy I danced in my chair,” Victoria said. “I felt proud of Tiffany and Lorraine for the work they had put in and thankful towards Onakado Sensei for having guided and supported us.”
Once the teams finished the competition, they attended the national Cherry Blossom Festival, also known as Sakura Matsuri, in Washington D.C. where they watched various performances ranging from martial arts to dances. According to Kimberly, the “mind-blowing” event gave her a chance to experience Japanese culture first-handed and practice speaking Japanese with the vendors.
