![“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)
School meeting recap 8/31
ASB President Michael Zhao (12) waits for the student body to settle down before starting the school meeting. This meeting featured announcements from organizations and teachers such as Dr. Schaffer, Dr. Nelson and Yearbook.
Jennifer Walrod, Director of Global Education, will hold two 15-minute informational meetings at 11:15 a.m. and noon in Shah 407 regarding a trip next spring to Greece and Italy. The trip is open only to freshmen and sophomores.
Science of Food, a new semester-long course taught by biology teacher Dr. Kate Schafer, will begin next spring. Interested students should email Derek Kameda by next Monday. The course covers the science behind cooking, nutrition and the chemical makeup of food.
Forms for the yearbook are available outside the journalism room. The current price is $100, including personalization, and will go up in November.
Dr. Eric Nelson, Computer Science Department Chair, is holding a meeting in Nichols 312 at the beginning of Wednesday long lunch for anyone interested in participating in next year’s Critical Issues Forum conference. The conference provides an opportunity for high school students and teachers to discuss important international issues such as nuclear non-proliferation.
Applications for National Honor Society (NHS) are now open to sophomores, juniors and seniors. NHS is a program intended for students devoted to promoting scholarship, leadership, service and character. Applications are located on their website under the “apply” section.
Harker Research club will be a workshop in Nichols 325 to help interested students find a research topic. A Science Research Competitions and Internship Athena page has more information regarding the Synopsys science fair and other research opportunities. The password is of W8VKK-52ZH4.
Girls’ Volleyball travels to Homestead on Thursday. Junior Varsity plays at 4:30 p.m. and Varsity at 6 p.m. Boys’ Varsity Water Polo will play Willcox on Friday, and Girls’ Varsity Volleyball will play at Milpitas on Saturday.
JV plays at 4 p.m. and Varsity at 7 p.m Friday in the first of six Friday night lights games. A Facebook page will be created for “the Nest,” a group dedicated to supporting sports; more information will be given about it in the future.
Homecoming Court nominations begin this week. More information will be available during class meetings. As decided in last Friday’s spirit kickoff, this year’s Homecoming theme is animal habitats.
Students are reminded to always look up and make eye contact with drivers in the parking lot for maximum safety. Students are advised not to walk through the middle of the parking lot after the drop off zone is extended into school.
Students can check a box on their PCR announcement page to receive automated email announcements.
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....
Raveena Kapatkar (12) is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Harker Aquila. She is a senior and this is her fourth year on staff. As a freshman, she was a reporter...