![“[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)
Opinions on the Homecoming floats
Seniors walk in the Homecoming parade with their class Gotham City-themed float.
Homecoming week gave students a chance to show spirit for their school. Each class chose a Homecoming theme and had to design and create a float based on the selected theme. Each grade had a different float theme, freshman with Mickey Mouse, sophomores with Frozen, juniors with Harry Potter and seniors with Gotham City.
Markus Wong (9) helped build the freshman float and described the ups and downs of creating the freshman float.
“When we made the float we had these foam balls and then we started to run into some issues when we started cutting them. The first time we cut one and then it broke in half,” Markus said. “The easy part was just taping everything together. Assembling the Mickey was the easiest part because we had to put the wires into the foam and stick it together.”
On the freshman float was a Mickey Mouse made out of styrofoam balls which were painted green and black.
“I think it makes you spirited,” Kristin Leblanc (9) said about the floats. “It’s a good idea unless it looks kind of bad, but still it gets you in the spirit for Homecoming.”
Kavya Seth (10) expressed her opinion on the sophomores’ Olaf-themed float. The float portrayed Olaf surrounded by bundles of fluffy, stretched out cotton balls that looked like snow
“I think that maybe it could’ve been colored better but I’m not good at painting, so I guess I shouldn’t criticize something that I didn’t even help do or whatever,” Kavya said. “But other than that I think it was pretty good.”
Doreene Kang (11) commented on the junior’s Hogwarts castle-themed float. The mysterious, black castle stood covered in gold glitter stood tall with opposing twin towers as the sides.
“It’s really nice, it’s good workmanship,” she said.
Senior and ASB president Sara Bean expressed her thoughts on the seniors’ Gotham City float. Skyscrapers rising tall above the ground and the Batman logo were both portrayed in the float.
“I think it came together really well, and I was glad to see that a lot of seniors just jumped in during the parade and started chanting with us, because it really brought that class spirit together,” she said.
The float rankings are currently hanging in the class eagles’ beaks by the walkway near the library. The freshmen rank fourth, sophomores second, juniors third and seniors first.
Danya Zhang (9) is a reporter for TALON. Her extra curricular activities include, volleyball. She enjoys watching Youtube, playing basketball, and reading...