![“[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)
Girls’ varsity softball defeats Mercy Burlingame 10-0
Kristin LeBlanc (9) pitches the ball while playing outfield in the softball match against Mercy Burlingame. Leblanc pitched for the entire match.
The varsity girls’ softball team won its game against Mercy Burlingame today.
In the first inning, Harker made nine runs, and in the second inning they were able to score one point. Mercy did not make any runs, so by the end of the game, the score was 10-0 in favor of Harker.
Sarah Bean (12), Lindsay Mitchell (10), Marty Sutton (10), and Tong Wu (11) made one run each and Kristin Leblanc (9), Briana Liang (12) and Alisa Wakita (11) made two runs.
The game was the first of the season in which everyone was able to play.
“We were able to get all sixteen players out there playing, which is a good team effort, and everybody got to participate and be part of the win today,” Coach Raul Rios said.
Though assistant Coach Dan Hudkins felt that the game did not have many memorable events, he was proud of the team’s win.
“This was a great game for us because it was a team that was not that strong, so we got the chance for all of the new players to get in,” Hudkins said.
Kristin LeBlanc (9) pitched throughout the whole game and contributed to the team’s win.
“It went really well, and everyone got to play, and it was really nice, and we were energetic the whole time” LeBlanc said.
Madelyn Wang’s (12) first ever hit was a highlight of the game.
“Seeing Madelyn Wang, a brand new player, come up there for the first time ever and hit a base hit for her first time up on her second pitch was awesome to see,” Rios said.
The team’s next game will be the first conference match of the season.
“It’s a really important game for us tomorrow, so I thought this was a kind of tune up game for us,” co-captain Sarah Bean (12) said.
The girls will play King’s Academy today at Blackford at 4:00 p.m.
Maya Kumar (11) is the Features Editor for the Winged Post. This is her third year in Journalism and her favorite part is collaborating with fellow journalism...
Meena Gudapati (12) is the Editor-in-Chief of Harker Aquila. Her favorite part of journalism is making her humorous podcast "Get Skool'd" and writing interesting...