![“[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)
Class of 2015 extends Shah patio for future seniors
A plot before Shah has already been cleared in preparation for the extension’s construction.
The senior class will finance an extension to the Shah patio as its parting gift, creating a substitute for the repurposed Sledge.
The extension will expand the area for recreational activity and allow students traveling to Shah by way of Davis Field to take a shorter route.
At the beginning of this school year, the senior class lost access to the senior Sledge, a senior-only lounge.
“It used to be that there was a senior Sledge where the faculty room currently is,” Spanish teacher and senior class dean Diana Moss said. “But this past year, we were not able to have the senior Sledge because we had to give it up for the DECA program.”
“We don’t know the joy [the Sledge] would have brought us because we never had it,” senior Matthew Ho said.
The new patio is meant to turn Shah Hall into a relaxing area that future seniors can use in replacement for the original senior Sledge.
“The plan is that there will be a patio with tables and an awning covering to provide shade and planter boxes all around it,” Moss said. “There may also be some sort of motivational benches put out there that have some phrases that reflect some of the values of our school phrases, like kindness, patience, and respect.”
Some seniors believe that the patio will be an insufficient replacement for the Sledge.
“You don’t get like a playstation, or a speaker set, or an Xbox,” senior Mohannad Khadr said.
Construction of the new patio required several planter boxes used by the gardening club to be removed.
“The garden was useful in the context of the gardening club, and as I recall it was initially paid for by a grant to build it,” club adviser and English teacher Dr. Ben Spencer-Cooke said. “[The loss of the garden] is somewhat unfortunate, as it is no longer available to students who were interested in horticulture, but on the other hand, with me leaving in June, there was no one particularly interested in carrying the gardening club.”
Dr. Spencer-Cooke added that there was discussion of relocating the garden to behind Nichols. Currently, the patio’s design is still being modified and construction beyond clearing the space has not yet begun.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on April 22, 2015.
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