![“[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)
JSA and JCL Host Conventions
Provided by Andrew Semenza
A guest lecturer at the fall JCL convention discusses Caesar’s “De Bello Gallico.” Other lectures focused on topics such as Vergil’s “Aeneid.”
Both Junior State of America and the Junior Classical League held their first set of conventions on the weekend of Nov. 15 to help interested students further explore their interests, whether in political science or Latin.
JSA convention
The primarily student-run JSA held its Fall State Convention on Nov. 15 and 16.
“It was really fun,” Derek Kuo (9) said. “I encourage everyone to join JSA.”
The Fall State Convention was themed “Principles and Pragmatism: Grappling with Ideology.”
Club advisor Daniel Hudkins said that JSA is not only for students seeking careers in political science.
“What matters to me just as much, if not more, is somebody who decides they don’t like the state of the way trash is being collected in their town and decide to run for the city council,” Hudkins said. “I hope to see more Harker kids on city councils and school boards and transit boards and most importantly just showing up and voting.”
JSA plans to hold a mock congress this winter at the state capitol in Sacramento. The congress will be held at the official state capitol building, Hudkins said.
JCL Convention:
JCL hosted the convention Ludi Novembres (November Games), on Nov. 15. JCL is an organization that supplements academic Latin classes by emphasizing classical studies and ancient civilization.
Maya Nandakumar (12), a JCL national officer, described the convention as educational.
“It’s a NorCal based convention that offers a smaller selection of events than our state convention, but still enough to get a taste of what’s to come,” Nandakumar said.
Convention activities included academic tests and Certamen, a Latin-themed quiz game. The convention also included guest lectures from professors on subjects ranging from ritual sacrifices of the Gauls to aspects of Vergil’s Aeneid.
Club advisor John Hawley mentioned that the school’s JCL chapter is currently focusing on bringing in more people to the club.
“Oddly enough, there’s more stuff going on down at the middle school than there is up here,” Hawley said.
He added that after the convention, the club should have a larger member base.
Prior to the JCL convention, interested students participated in the National Classical Etymology Exam, which tests knowledge of Latin derivatives. JCL will hold conventions at the state and national levels in the spring and summer, respectively.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on Nov. 19, 2014.
Vedant Thyagaraj is the Science & Technology Editor for Harker Aquila. He is currently a senior and has been on staff for the past three years. Vedant...
Praveen Batra (9) is a reporter for the Winged Post. He enjoys informative writing, design, and typography. In his spare time, he likes to write mobile...