![“[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)
Two juniors named as 2015 Siemens finalists
Juniors David Zhu and Evani Radiya-Dixit were named reigonal finalists in the 2015 Siemens Competition. 11 other students were named semifinalists.
October 28, 2015
The Siemens Foundation named Evani Radiya-Dixit (11) and David Zhu (11) as two of 97 regional finalists in the 2015 Siemens Competition for Math, Science, and Technology on Oct. 19. Earlier on Oct. 16, the Foundation selected 11 Harker students, including Evani and David, as Siemens semifinalists.
“The announcement of the regional finalists took me completely by surprise,” David said.
The Siemens Foundation selected the regional finalists out of 466 semi-finalists. Each finalist will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
“I was not expecting to win, so I think it was really exciting,” Evani said. “It was an honor to win.”
David and Evani will have the opportunity to participate in a 12 minute oral presentation followed by a 15 minute Q&A with regional judges.
They will conduct their oral presentation and Q&A at one of six locations during November: Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Georgia Institute of Technology on November 6; University of Notre Dame or The University of Texas at Austin on November 13; California Institute of Technology or Carnegie Mellon University on November 20.
“The winning of Harker students every year should not be deemed as coincidental,” Anita Chetty, the chair of the biology department, said. “I am also really pleased that it is in the area of bioinformatics, which we are going to see more and more of becoming the science that is necessary in order to be able to study biology at a higher level.”
Students who are named national finalists will take a paid trip to Washington D.C. to compete at the national level in November.
