![“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)
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” brings school community together
Helen Woodruff (11) acts as a wall next to fellow actor Rishabh Chandra (11). The play was performed by the cast on three different evenings.
This year’s fall play titled “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” brought together faculty, staff and students at the Blackford theater on Thursday, Oct. 30, Friday, Oct. 31 and Saturday, Nov. 1
All three performances ran from 7 p.m. to about 9 p.m.
The famous playwright William Shakespeare wrote this play, a comedy about the protagonist Puck played by Maxwell Smitherman (11), who confuses two couples’ romantic feelings towards each other.
This year’s play featured 43 students, including the cast and crew, and was directed by Jeffrey Draper.
Many faculty members, students, friends and family came to the final performance. After the last show performers reflected on the play.
“What I like most is all the new things that we did with the show” Akshaya Premkumar (11) said, who played Moth, a fairy in the show. “We never did it before. Mr. Draper introduced many new ideas and I love how he played with the show.”
Other than performing or helping out backstage students could also involve themselves in the play by ushering. “It was super fun because I got to watch the fall play,” said Sameep Mangat (9), who was an usher on Saturday night. “Ushering was actually a lot more fun than I thought because I got to say ‘hi’ to everyone.”
Parents of performers came to watch their children on stage as well. After the show, they congratulated performers and the the tech crew.
“I think the production has been awesome,” Pranesh Anthapur, father of performer Ishanya Anthapur (12) and Aditi Anthapur (8) said. “I thought that every character performed really well. They were flawless and we really enjoyed the show. Both the talent and the comedy showed up really well.”
Freshman interested in theater in the Upper school enjoyed the fall play.
“I really liked all the movement and the acting and the body language of everyone,” said Jessica Skinner (9), a Study of Theater Arts student. “The chemistry of the cast is really good.”
After the Saturday night show the students thanked everyone who helped out with the show.
“I liked reconfiguring the room,”said Brian Larsen, the production manager for the show. “It was challenging, but it was fun. It was nice to do it this way”
The next Conservatory performance is the Student Directed Showcase, which performs on Friday Jan. 9 and Saturday Jan. 10.
Sanjana Avula (9) is a reporter for The Winged Post. In her free time she enjoys biking, watching movies, and spending time with her family. Sanjana also...
Neha Sunil (12) is the Social Media Editor and Seniors Editor for the TALON yearbook. She has been part of the publication for four years and was previously...