![“[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)
Student scientists submit research papers for the Siemens Competition
Upper school students finalized their research projects over the course of the past week to submit for the prestigious Siemens Competition by 9 p.m. pacific time, on Tuesday.
The Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology is a research intensive contest, which involves formalizing findings in a 18-page report to improve students’ understanding of the scientific process and increase student interest in STEM related fields.
“It’s a very interesting competition and will allow you to pursue your interests in research in general,” participant Aumesh Misra (12) said. “You should apply if you have a great passion in science and you just want to advance your research and want to know how to write scientific papers.”
Students participate in the competition either by submitting a team project, with up to three team members, or by submitting an individual project, which is limited to seniors only.
Although the competition launched in 1999, Harker students only started submitting projects in 2008. In the past five years alone, Harker has had 13 regional finalists and 39 semifinalists, with the number of qualifiers growing each year.
Each year, from a pool of over a thousand, 300 students are selected as semifinalists for their outstanding research achievements. From those 300, an additional 10 projects from each of six geographic regions advance to the next level in the competition as regional finalists. Students recognized as regional finalists must also prepare a poster and an oral presentation.
From the pool of regional finalists, two finalist projects are selected from each of the six regions for the individual and team categories. Selected students then compete in front of a national panel of professors and researchers in the field.
Apart from the prestige of winning the competition, finalists also receive a cash-prize scholarship, with the first place individual and team projects receiving $100,000.
Sadhika Malladi (12), who was a regional finalist last year, emphasized the time commitment and extra planning that the competition requires.
“I think Siemens is a different experience this year because we have college apps going on at the same time first semester and so you had to manage your time a lot better,” she said. “Make sure you research something you are interested in and make sure you allocate time over the school year because research doesn’t stop after the summer.”
Semifinalists will be announced on Oct. 16, and regional finalists will be announced three days later on Oct. 19.
Vineet Kosaraju (12) is the STEM Editor for both Harker Aquila and Winged Post. He is a senior and has been part of the journalism program for the past...