![“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)
School meeting recap – 1/12
ASB President Sarah Bean (12) welcomes the school to today’s school meeting. Today’s meeting featured a few short announcements and was followed by performances from Guys Gig and the Brown Derbies.
Seniors and sophomores should go to the Atrium and Auditorium respectively for their class meetings tomorrow due to seniors having their graduation cap and gown fitting.
Student council will be selling Valentines’ Day grams beginning tomorrow during both lunches in addition to providing a link for students wishing to order online. Students can choose to send either flowers, chocolates or both.
Female students interested in attending a lead on conference featuring speakers such as Hillary Clinton should fill out CareerConnect’s survey by Wednesday. The event will take place on Feb. 9 from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The newly created “How to Life” program, created by juniors Natalie Simonian and Shannon Hong, will host a 30 minute self-defense class this Wednesday from 11:20 a.m/ to 11:50 a.m. “How to Life” will also sponsor sessions regarding cooking, taxes and more. Interested students should email Jane Keller.
Winter Ball will be hosted this Saturday in the Atrium from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tickets will be on sale all week.
The annual Kicks Against Cancer soccer game will take place after school on Friday, Jan. 23. Merchandise will be available for purchase and all proceeds will be donated to Camp Okizu.
The annual Winter Concert will take place this Friday at the Mexican Heritage Theater at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are currently available on the student and parent portals.
There are no alternate or special schedules for the remainder of the week.
Maya Jeyendran (11) is the Lifestyle Editor of Harker Aquila. She been a part of Harker's journalism program since her freshman year, and has previously...
Kaity Gee (12) is the assistant Editor in Chief of Wingspan. Serving as a reporter for TALONWP freshman year, Kaity has written pieces for Winged Post...