![“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)
Four-way tie at egg drop competition
Leg bent and arm down, junior class dean Matthew Harley mockingly prepares to drop the egg. Juniors comprised the majority of the crowd that watched the spirit event.
All four classes emerged victorious at the egg drop competition held in front of Nichols Hall during Wednesday long lunch.
After building up anticipation about a surprise spirit event at previous Monday meetings, Spirit club revealed that they were holding an egg drop class competition.
“Usually in January, Spirit club chooses to do a secret spirit event that they don’t announce,” Activities Coordinator Kerry Enzensperger said. “[It’s] just something to have people come out and work together that they can’t preplan for.”
Though the club advertised the competition beforehand, class participation turned out lower than expected. About 20 students in freshman, junior and senior classes appeared to either watch the egg drop or participate, but only about seven sophomores showed up at the event.
“I wish more people came out, but it was a surprise spirit event so there was no time to prepare anyways,” Class of 2017 Spirit Coordinator Haley Tran said
Students were only allowed to use the materials on the tables in the Edge to protect their egg, which included balloons, breakfast cereal, straws, napkins and streamers. Despite limited materials and preparation time, all four classes managed to secure a victory, a first in the history of Harker egg drops.
According to Assistant Activities Coordinator Eric Kallbrier, “the secret ingredient this year was the box of Lucky Charms that was the lucky charm for each class.”
Although all classes emerged victorious, the freshman class’ hopes were almost dashed. While Kalbrier was removing the paper streamers from the egg, it slipped out of his grasp and rolled onto the ground. Unlike Humpty Dumpty, the freshman egg remained intact after two drops.
“In the end, the freshmen still get first place out of all the classes because at the end of the day Eric dropped our egg a second time,” Freshman Class President Jimmy Lin said. “He didn’t do this to all the other classes, so we still get first place above all the other classes, so we’re still superior.”
Next Wednesday long lunch, Spirit Club will be holding a Valentine’s Day event, in which students may shoot arrows to win prizes.
Kathy Duan is a senior and Co-Editor-in-Chief for TALON Yearbook. After three years on staff, she practically lives in the journalism room. She enjoys...