![“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)
Upper school plans summer Arctic trip
Special to Aquila
Glaciers in front of mountains. Photography students on the trip will have the opportunity to take photos of the landscape.
Sign-ups began last week for the first summer trip to Iceland, Greenland, and the Svalbard islands for photography and biology expeditions led by teachers Joshua Martinez and Anita Chetty.
The 10 students on the trip will either be studying the impact of climate change or photographing the people, landscape and wildlife of the Arctic, depending on which course they choose. Chetty, who went to the Arctic last summer, will be leading a group of biology students to study cultural, population, and environmental changes. The other course that the students can take on the trip is also the photography course, led by Mr. Martinez, where students will be able to photograph the landscape, people, animals, and research processes.
“Regardless of the discipline chosen, I think that a huge benefit of this trip is that students will be going somewhere that they’ve never seen before,” photography teacher Joshua Martinez said. “Interacting with people who think differently than they do and who have had different life experiences and then bringing that back to their lives here at Harker which, I think, is the ultimate growth for this trip,”
The two-week trip will take place from July 14 to July 29. The students will be travelling on a specialized research ship and will make several stops in countries in the Arctic, going as far north as 700 miles south of the North Pole.
Only 10 students will be chosen to go on the trip, and well over 10 students have already expressed interest. Eventually the list of students will be narrowed down, but no criteria for the picking of students has been given yet.
Many students who are interested mentioned other conflicts and the difficulty of planning so far ahead in advance.
“I think it would be really fun,” Chandler Nelson (11) said. “But I’m doing the Fringe Festival for the musical so I wouldn’t be able to do both.”
Though many people may not be able to go on the trip, the large attendance at an informational meeting for the trip held in Nichols on Tuesday evening reflected student interest in the trip.
“It’s super cool,” said Tong Wu (11). “I haven’t decided whether to do the science or photography part.”
Applications for the trip were due this Tuesday, and with the limited number of people allowed, the specialized and unique experiences that this first-time expedition will provide have made it a popular and exclusive trip.
Lauren Russell (10) is a reporter in her second year on staff for the Winged Post. After joining the staff for freshman year, she looks forward to continuing...