![“[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)
Keller’s Korner 9/26
Freshmen line up to vote for their class council. Amy Jin (9) ran for Class President this year against Jimmy Lin, Praveen Batra, Rajiv Movva and Randy Zhao.
Keller’s Korner takes a look at freshman elections from a candidate’s perspective this week: before speeches and after the vote.
Amy Jin (9) ran for Class President this year against Jimmy Lin, Praveen Batra, Rajiv Movva and Randy Zhao.
“I currently am not nervous,” she said before giving her speech to the freshman class on Tuesday. “But once I get up to stand behind the podium and deliver my speech, I will be internally freaking out.”
Amy says she was inspired to run for student council because it seemed fun and in an effort to enhance her class’s experience at Harker.
“I cannot promise that I would be the best class president, but I can promise that I will value everyone’s opinions and suggestions and that I will always put forth my best effort,” she said. “Some ideas I have myself are to add more 10 minute passing periods throughout the week, an alternative being to propose a three-minute grace period for people coming from or arriving to Shah.”
After speeches for all five student council positions, President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Spirit Coordinator were given during an hour-long extra help on Tuesday, votes were held in the Journalism room during Thursday’s lunches.
The number of freshmen voting was unusually low this year, according to Upper School Dean of Students Kevin Williamson. In contrast to this year’s 57 percent turnout, “freshmen elections usually run about 10 percent higher, or 68 percent,” Williamson said.
Results of the elections were announced Friday, with Jimmy Lin, Darren Gu, Justin Su, Derek Kuo, and Maxwell Woehrmann winning President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Spirit Coordinator respectively.
After the new student council was appointed, Amy share her thoughts on the outcome.
“I was a bit disappointed at first, but I didn’t linger over it too long,” she said. “I knew from the start that whoever won in the end would have deserved it because all the candidates would have made great class presidents.”
Amy also did not think that voter turnout had any bearing on the results. “Those who didn’t vote probably had no preference,” she said. “So not mandating voting would actually ensure that the class president in the end really had a majority of the grade’s support.”
Amy is not sure if she will run again next year, but she thinks it would be fun.
Meilan Steimle (12) is co-Editor-in-Chief of the Winged Post. She was a reporter her freshman year, Winged Post Opinion Editor her sophomore year and Winged...
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...