![“[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)
Class eagles go on display outside Manzanita
Sophomore class “Frozen” themed eagle on display in front of the journalism room. The eagles were judged later in the week.
The class eagles were displayed outside Manzanita Hall today as part of Homecoming spirit week.
The Class of 2018 painted a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse-themed eagle, displayed next to the sophomores’ Frozen eagle. Juniors had a colorful Hogwarts eagle, and the seniors showed off a Gotham-themed eagle.
Today kicked off Homecoming spirit week with the eagle displays, the lunchtime ice-melting competition, and the combined sophomore and freshman dress-up day.
The classes’ eagles will be entered in a competition to determine to determine the winner, second place, and third place eagles.
“We had a Google doc, and we just created a design that incorporates all the other grades,” said Mona Lee (9), co-chair of the freshman eagle-painting group. “Being freshmen, we didn’t expect an eagle as good as the other grades, but we’re proud of our efforts.”
Sophomore Hazal Gurcan commented on the appearance of the final versions of this year’s eagles.
“People actually put effort [into them], so they’re really pretty,” she said.
Cynthia Hao (11) discussed the initial plans for the Class of 2016’s eagle and how they compared to the end result.
“We had super great plans for it, so I feel like we kind of overestimated what we were able to do, so I feel kind of disappointed that we didn’t achieve all we could have if we’d had the time, but I think it looks pretty good,” she said.
The freshman eagle was mostly black, with paintings of characters along the wings and “Class of 2018” proudly displayed along the front. The sophomore eagle was light blue and white, reflecting the most prominent colors in Disney’s Frozen, with the movie quote “only an act of true love will thaw a frozen heart,” on the side and a painting of the character Elsa on the front.
The juniors painted the Hogwarts house symbols of Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor on all four sides of their eagle’s base. The seniors came up with an eagle painted black with a paper mask and figurines and buildings surrounding the eagle, with miniature representations of all grades’ themes featuring on one of the sides.
Events later this week include tomorrow’s parade, junior and senior dress-up days, Friday’s Homecoming rally, and the Homecoming game.
Sahana Srinivasan (12) is the Editor-in-Chief of the Winged Post and Wingspan, having previously served as Managing Editor, Asst. STEM Editor and a reporter....