![“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)
GEO club week raises money for Malaria Consortium
The Global Empowerment Outreach Club (GEO) raised money this week for the Malaria Consortium. Although this abbreviated week was originally assigned to Cooking Club, its officers agreed to share with GEO.
GEO members are selling tie-dyed, hand-painted drawstring bags for $5 throughout the week and Tpumps Honey milk tea, Mango Lychee Green milk tea, and Passion Strawberry Black milk tea for the same price on Wednesday after HOSCARS. Students and faculty can purchase a pre-painted bag, request a design or paint a bag themselves.
“A lot of the members in our group are interested in arts and crafts, and we knew we wanted to do something handmade, which we could preferably do together,” said GEO co-president Suzy Lou when explaining how the club decided to sell bags. “This was the main idea we settled on, probably because we could do the designs on the bags, which are really versatile.”
All proceeds from bag and tea sales will be donated to the Malaria Consortium, an organization that works to provide malaria testing for children in Southeast Asia and Africa. GEO members chose the Malaria Consortium out of five possible charities at the beginning of the year. Other charity possibilities were Free Wheelchair Mission, Books for Africa, War Child and Rising Star Outreach.
The club week and bag sales garnered positive reactions across campus, with students and faculty expressing approval for the Malaria Consortium.
“I think it’s really great that the club is hosting GEO week,” Alexis Gauba (10) said, “to not only raise money for a great cause but also to raise awareness among our community.”
Physics teacher Mark Brada, who purchased a pre-painted bag, agrees.
“I get so overwhelmed in some ways by all the charities,” he said. “But I do think that GEO does a good job vetting the charities they’re supporting.”
Although GEO’s shared club week will end Wednesday due to parent-student-teacher conferences on Thursday and Friday, it will have a club day sometime next month, when they will be hosting the annual multicultural fair.
Meilan Steimle (12) is co-Editor-in-Chief of the Winged Post. She was a reporter her freshman year, Winged Post Opinion Editor her sophomore year and Winged...