![“[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)
Names of 2015-2016 Near and Mitra scholars released
A list of the Mitra Scholars is posted on TV screens located in Shah and Main.
Names of the students of next year’s Near and Mitra program were broadcasted on the TV screens located in Shah and Main last Friday.
Near scholars include juniors Zarek Drozda, Shannon Hong, Jasmine Liu, Sadhika Malladi and Sahana Narayanan, and Mitra scholars include juniors Kaitlyn “Kaity” Gee, Elisabeth Siegel, Natalie Simonian and Kavya Ramakrishnan.
Out of 24 applicants, only nine were selected.
“Actually getting in is somewhat competitive,” Zarek said. “I was very happy, ecstatic about the research going forward, and I’m really looking forward to working with Mr. Lepler on this project.”
The application process required students to fill out an online form, and write an essay and paragraph about the topic students chose, why they want the grant, previous experience in historical research and the name of the history teacher who would recommend the student. Each student receives two or three mentors who choose them. One of those includes a librarian for research and citation aid.
“It was pretty intense; there was quite a few essays, a paragraph we had to write,” Sahana said. “We had to demonstrate our budding interest in the humanities and humanities research.”
Students in Near study topics exclusively related to U.S. History while Mitra is for topics outside of that, such as European History.
Natalie plans on researching how the public perceive Marie Antoinette and Alexandra Feodorovna and how their view of the queens added to the hatred towards the royal family.
“What I also want to do is to reevaluate those views [and] how those views might be narrow minded and might be misinterpreted,” she said. “You always hear about Marie Antoinette being scandalous and out of her depth, and then Alexandra, obviously, with her Rasputin.”
Sahana’s topic centers on the influence of B-pop jazz in the 1940s on black American scholars and the equal rights movement.
“It’s kind of bridging both the political, literary and music world in the 1940s, which I’m excited about,” she said. “I’ve always loved music, and I think I just wanted the unique opportunity to do something that incorporated all those interests, however how disparate they are.”
The time commitment requires students to work for 200 hours over the next year.
“I think I will be fine with handling any stress that comes with the project,” Zarek said. “Certainly there’s going to be a lot of research to be done but I’m still looking forward to it nonetheless.”
The Near and Mitra scholars will start doing the bulk of their research over the summer in order to be prepared for the next school year.
Julia Huang is a junior and Co-Organizations Editor for TALON Yearbook. This is Julia's third year on staff. In her free time, Julia enjoys watching shows...