![“[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)
GSA club holds events during club week
Several students attended the Gay-Straight Alliance’s (GSA) salsa dancing activity yesterday during long lunch.
The event took place in the dance room from 12 p.m. onwards and consisted of dance teacher Karl Kuehn and GSA advisor Abel Olivas instructing students in basic salsa dancing techniques.
“Since Mr. Olivas has a history of dancing and teaching salsa, we thought it would be good to teach a fun class for multiple students. Salsa doesn’t have any [specific relevance to] the LGBT community, but it’s just fun for everyone,” Kuehn said.
In addition to finding the salsa event very exciting, Kuehn also said that his high school did not have such events, and he believed the selling of the sweets and wristbands were quite successful in terms of raising awareness within the community. Club Advisor Abel Olivas agreed with Kuehn, and to the importance of awareness.
“It’s important for [students] to just know that there are gay people in their midst and also to just learn more [about the LGBT] community to break down stereotypes, to dispel myths, to educate, [and] to make them more aware,” Olivas said.
Prior to hosting a salsa dancing lesson, GSA also sold food items, pride bracelets, and distributed rainbow stickers as part of their fundraiser. The profits from the fundraiser will benefit Outlet, an organization which aims to support and assist LGBT youth.
“Our main focus is to [let others know] that there’s no underlying, like homophobic social pressure here, but then we want to extend our reach to other areas where this money is currently going through a therapy group for LGBT kids who live in areas that aren’t necessarily as accepting as the Bay Area,” club member Sarah de Vegvar (10) said.
GSA plans to host similar events during its club week next year.
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...
Emma Yu (9) is a reporter for The Winged Post. In her free time, she usually draws, surfs the internet, and hopes for no tests in the upcoming weeks of...