![“[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)
Students take part in the Harker Summit
Arben Gutierrez-Bujari (11) shares his ideas and opinions to the rest of the students. Student representatives will discuss the topics covered during the Harker Summit with their advisories on Oct. 7.
One representative from every advisory and club joined together to discuss and share their ideas about what the community is like at Harker along with ways to improve the school at the Harker Summit in the Nichols Atrium this morning from 8 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Previously known as the Honor and Ethics Conference, the Harker Summit is held by the Honor Council in hopes of providing new insight and student opinions into the school community.
“It’s been called the Honor and Ethics Conference prior but it’s similar ideas in the sense of getting a lot of students talking and putting their brains together,” Honor Council advisor Evan Barth said. “This is the third time we’ve done that, [and] we wanted to not focus on honor as honor but more just as part of what we are at this school and draw a bigger circle.”
The event was separated into three sessions. The first one was more about optimism and what everyone’s ideal Harker is like.
The second session was about the impediments in the community and the obstacles prohibiting the student body from achieving the ideal Harker.
Many students voiced out their opinions about how there was a lot of transparency between the students and the administration, as well as the internal relationships between the students and teachers.
The last session dealt with ways to solve these impediments, and the discussion ended with some students talking about their general overview of their experience today.
Many students who attended the event thought that it was an effective way to bring together the community and for the students to voice their ideas and opinions.
“I think it was really good because different people could come together and express their ideas and it kind of showed that everyone kind of wants [a] community here,” Kristen Ko (12) said.
Faculty members also believed that change will occur in the community as a result of the Harker Summit discussion.
“I know there will be change, how visible and tangible all that change will be or when it will be, that’s to be determined,” English teacher Thomas Wicklund said. “But I would say absolutely I am confident that some things will change in a positive way.”
Some students feel that despite the discussion brought about a lot of student ideas, there still remains a certain level of transparency between the students and the administration.
“I think it was a good step towards the administration getting student input on a bunch of really important issues but we will walk away not really knowing if our ideas are heard,” Aliesa Bahri (10) said.
Students who attended as representatives will discuss the topics talked about during the Harker Summit with their advisories on Oct. 7.
Ashley Jiang (11) is the photo editor for Winged Post. This is her third year in the journalism program, and she was a reporter her freshman and sophomore...