![“[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)
Freshmen vote for student council candidates
Freshmen line up to cast their votes for student council.
Freshmen voted for student council candidates at the journalism room this afternoon after listening to the candidates’ speeches.
Presidential candidates included Amy Jin, Jimmy Lin, Praveen Batra, Rajiv Movva and Randy Zhao, while Darren Gu ran unopposed for Vice President. Amy Dunphy, Brandon Mo, Divija Bhimaraju and Derek Kuo ran for Secretary. Treasurer candidates included Alex Wang and Justin Su, while Linus Li, Maxwell Woehrmann and Nirban Bhatia competed for Spirit Coordinator.
“I am definitely looking forward to being able to communicate with our class, take suggestions from students, work with the faculty, and also organize various spirit events.” Jimmy said.
Some candidates voiced their eagerness to connect with the student body and build more spirit.
“I am definitely looking forward to releasing the freshman class out of their shells,” Linus said. “It is no secret that our class seems to be the most shy and reserved when it comes to spirit events, and the mixture of wild, diverse personalities that our class boasts remains unrevealed by the preconceived notion that freshmen are naive and withdrawn.”
Faculty who helped out with the speeches also felt the candidates were dedicated and excited.
“I thought the speeches were quite good,” Class of 2018 Dean Victor Adler said. “Uniformly positive tenor. Brief.”
After their speeches, many student council candidates also expressed their excitement for being involved in the school.
“Harker is a really great place — great teachers, inclusive student community, stimulating classes,” Divija said. “I want to be as much a part of that as I can and get the opportunity to give back to the school.”
The results of the vote will be announced by Dr. Adler through an email by the end of school tomorrow.
Kaitlin Hsu (11) is the Editor-in-Chief of Wingspan Magazine. In her freshmen year, she was a reporter, and in her sophomore year, she was the Features...
Maya Jeyendran (11) is the Lifestyle Editor of Harker Aquila. She been a part of Harker's journalism program since her freshman year, and has previously...