![“[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)
Siemens semifinalists and regional finalists announced
Courtesy of the Siemens Foundation
Thirteen upperclassmen were announced as semifinalists in the Siemens research competition in Math, Science, and Technology last Thursday, more than any other California high school.
Semifinalists Jason Chu (12), Andrew Jin (12), Nitya Mani (12), Roshni Pankhaniya (12), Ankita Pannu (12), Nikash Shankar (12), Neil Movva (12), Rishabh Chandra (11), Vineet Kosaraju (11), Jonathan Ma (11), Sadhika Malladi (11), Alice Wu (11) and Venkat Sankar (10) qualified as semifinalists.
Last Monday, Siemens announced that Jason, Vineet, Sadhika and Jonathan have earned the title of Regional Finalists, along with 56 other students from across the country.
An unprecedented number of students applied to the competition this year, totaling 4,428 student registrations and 1,784 project submissions. From the applicants, 300 students were selected as semifinalists.
Last year, 10 Harker students became semifinalists, and two students, Andrew Jin (12) and Steven Wang (12) became both regional finalists and national finalists.
Jason, Vineet, Sadhika and Jonathan will proceed to the Regional Finals hosted at six different universities. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Notre Dame will host the students depending on their respective regions.
They will each present to a panel of university judges, and winners will earn a silver medal and a $3000 scholarship. All other finalists in the Regional Competition will receive a $1000 scholarship.
“It was really a pleasant surprise, because I wasn’t expecting this,” Ankita said. “I’m very thrilled though.”
Her project entitled “Mining online cancer support groups: improving healthcare through social data” explored both computer science and medicine.
Regional Finalists will be presenting between the weekends of Nov. 7-22, depending on region, and winners will be invited to compete in the National Competition at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 5-8.
Tiara Bhatacharya is the Opinion editor for Harker Aquila. She is a senior and has been part of the journalism program since her sophomore year. Her favorite...