![“[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)
Freshmen meet at Rosenthal field for donuts
Jimmy Lin (9) sets down a box of fresh donuts on the Rosenthal field bleachers after third period. As the freshmen class president, Jimmy helped organize the event.
The freshman class council handed out free donuts to its class after third period today.
Students had been notified of the event, in previous class meetings and by email. The council planned the gathering to bring some fun into the final weeks of the school year.
Derek Kuo (9), secretary of the freshmen student council, helped come up with the idea of giving freshmen free donuts.
“We had an idea to go get donuts for the grade, and we decided to do something special for the Class of 2018, so we decided to just go get donuts,” Derek said.
Freshmen previously filled out a survey sent via email regarding their preferred flavor of donut so that the council would know roughly what quantities of each flavor to purchase. Chocolate, glazed, powdered sugar, sprinkled and plain donuts were among the assortment of treats available. The freshmen council, along with Freshman Class Dean Dr. Victor Adler, placed boxes of donuts on the bleachers by the field.
“It was a great opportunity to spend more time with my friends and gather around eating donuts,” Aliesa Bahri (9) said.
The event took place during the time class meeting is normally held. After freshmen received their donuts, several upperclassmen took the remaining ones.
Freshman Nastya Grebin (9) also commented on her favorite part of the gathering.
“Chasing off senior and juniors and sophomores who were trying to get donuts [was my favorite part],” Nastya said.
Although a handful of freshmen had AP exams, the donut-filled gathering was scheduled on a day in which the only exams were U.S. Government, French and Spanish Literature, courses that not many freshmen take.
Freshmen stayed on Rosenthal field to enjoy their donuts before going to extra help. The freshman student council will host a paintball activity for its class on the last day of school.
Jessica Wang (12) is a Managing editor for the Winged Post, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she wishes to cover a greater breadth of content...