![“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)
Varsity girls’ lacrosse wins at their senior night
This is the last lacrosse game of the season and the last game on this team for seniors. At the senior night, they were all presented with flowers.
Varsity girls’ lacrosse held their senior night on May 8, ending the season with a narrow 10-9 victory over Mercy Burlingame.
The ceremony began at 4 p.m., honoring seniors Megy Appalaraju, Hannah Bollar, Allison Kiang, Leeza Kuo, Priscilla Pan and Sabrina Sidhu with flowers presented by their teammates and Head coach Andrew Irvine.
Afterwards, the seniors posed for pictures with their teammates and families.
Dozens of students, including the junior varsity lacrosse team, came out to support the seniors with numerous handmade posters hung from the bleachers.
Flowers were also given to graduating seniors on Mercy Burlingame’s team.
The team began strongly, scoring two goals in the first three minutes. At half time, they were ahead by four points with a score of 7-3, but Mercy Burlingame nearly caught up in the second half. In the last 30 seconds, the score was 10-9. Goalie Meilan Steimle (10) blocked Mercy Burlingame’s final attempt at scoring.
Allison Kiang (12) plans to continue to play lacrosse in college on a club or intramural team.
“We worked really hard, and it just feels amazing that after four years we end on this sort of note,” Allison said. “I’m gonna miss the lacrosse family that we have here; we’re practically like a sorority. The fans are always so supportive and the coaches.”
Aishwarya “Aishu” Murari (11) has been playing lacrosse since her freshman year and shared her thoughts about how the team will be different next year.
“We have talented underclassmen on this team so I think we’ll be okay,” Aishu said. “It’s definitely not going to be the same because we have really aggressive seniors and a lot of them are the main focus of our offense. Our style of play is going to have to change, but I think we can still be good.”
Irvine talked about the impact this year’s seniors have made on the team.
“We’ll miss our seniors,” he said. “We care about them, but they’ve passed on a legacy of commitment [and] growth to this program. They will be missed dearly, but they are always welcome back on this field.”
This is the last home game in the varsity girls’ lacrosse team’s season.
Sahana Srinivasan (12) is the Editor-in-Chief of the Winged Post and Wingspan, having previously served as Managing Editor, Asst. STEM Editor and a reporter....
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...