![“[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 lacrosse defeats Aragon High School
Lauren Russel
Priscilla Pan (12) picks up the dropped ball and runs down the field to Aragon’s goal. Priscilla has been a member of the Harker lacrosse team for 2 years.
The girls’ varsity lacrosse team won its game against Aragon High School at Davis Field with a final score of 14-6.
The first half started quickly with Harker winning the draw and making a fast-break down the field, resulting in a shot on Aragon within the first ten seconds. In the following five minutes, the girls managed to score three times and Aragon once.
Senior Allison Kiang made an assist to Leeza Kuo (12) for the girls’ fourth goal, bringing the score to 4-2. After several quick consecutive goals by Harker, Aragon scored a third time before the first half ended, bringing the score to 10-3 with Harker in the lead.
During the second half, Harker again managed to initially gain control of the ball, but after several turnovers, Aragon scored two consecutive goals. After another goal by Natasha Mayor (11), captain Hannah Bollar (12) won the draw and scored within 20 seconds of the face off. After another goal and two yellow cards given to Aragon due to dangerous checks to the head, the Eagles scored again, bringing the final score to 14-6.
Although this is the third Harker victory this season out of eight losses, the talk of the team afterwards was focused less on the score and more on their overall performance together.
“Obviously we won, but I felt that it went way beyond that. Today we really connected as a team,” Elizabeth Edwards (11) said. “I felt that we improved on a lot of skills that we’ve been working on throughout the season.”
The lacrosse team celebrates captain Allison Kiang’s 18th birthday after the game.
The junior varsity team, which was watching the game, commented about the strengths of the varsity team during tonight’s game.
“I liked seeing how many of the players were dodging away from the opponents and making clean, strong passes down the field,” Megan Swanson (11), one of the junior varsity lacrosse captains said. “Leeza, Allison, Natasha, and Aditi had some excellent team work on the offensive side of the field.”
This game brings the team’s current standing to eight losses and three wins. Next week, the girls will play two more away games on Monday and Wednesday and a home game on Friday.