![“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)
Girl’s varsity soccer defeats Redwood Christian 9-0
Joelle Anderson (10) scores to put the Eagles up 2-0. She finished with four goals on the night.
The Varsity girls’ soccer team defeated Redwood Christian High School 9-0 today in the third game of the season.
The high-scoring first half ended with the Eagles up 6-0. At that point, forward Joelle Anderson (10) had scored three goals, including the first goal of the game, and Kailee Gifford (10) had scored two. The team finished with three more goals after the first half. Other scorers included Alyssa Amick (12), Nikita Parulkar (12) and Maile Chung (10).
Kailee, who finished with two goals, said that the victory helped the team improve.
“The game was good,” Kailee said. “It allowed us to experiment with different positions. I think there’s a chance [to win it all this season], but we just have to play harder to prepare against the powerhouses, like Sacred Heart and Menlo, so we just need to work hard and keep practicing.”
Goalie Sadhika Malladi (11), who did not play in the game due to a broken toe, also believe that such a dominant performance was positive for the team’s aspirations.
“Experimenting [with positions] is good because we get to use plays and strategies that we studied in practice in a competitive game setting,” Sadhika said. “So when we play a harder team, we’ll be more comfortable running these plays.”
Sadhika also pointed out that with this game against Redwood Christian being a preseason game, experimentation benefits the coaching staff as well by allowing them to test which position best suits each player.
In addition to the high number of scorers, the defenders allowed less than three attempts on goal, and the goalie did not allow a single goal. The coaches may have multiple options at each position leading into the tougher games on the schedule.
The team is now 1-1-1 after tying with Lynbrook in their season opener and losing to Fremont High School last week. The girls will play their next game against Terra Nova at home on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. on Davis Field.
Aditya Varshney (12) is the opinion editor of Harker Aquila and the Winged Post. This is his second year on staff. During his junior year, he occupied...