![“[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)
French National Honor Society creates Paris tribute board
Students write messages for those affected by the various attacks in Paris, Beirut and Baghdad. FNHS posted these messages on its Tribute Board in Main.
November 19, 2015
The French National Honor Society (FNHS) created a tribute board for those affected by the onslaught of the terrorist attacks which occurred in Paris, Beirut and Baghdad last Thursday and Friday.
FNHS hosted a preparation session on Tuesday in which they cut out white, red, green and blue paper hearts in. Today, they hosted a booth after school and offered the hearts to students to write messages of support to those affected by the attacks. These cutouts will be posted on the FNHS board in Main Hall.
Senior Samali Sahoo, who is the president of FNHS, expressed how the attacks in Paris personally affected her.
“The Paris and Beirut attacks definitely changed my perception on ISIS and the controversy surrounding it as a whole,” Samali said. “I think in terms of FNHS, we learn a lot about cultural aspects in AP and there’s actually like a huge cultural divide amongst Arab people in France and this whole multiculturalism problem, so there’s already a divide. The bad part about it is that yes, there is terrorism, which is bad, but then there’s also that other part in which you don’t really want to be in a country in which the societies are divided.”
As soon as the news about the terrorist attacks circulated, the club immediately started planning the event to bring awareness into the Harker community.
“It was very important to us to make sure this would be addressed in the school because this is such an important issue,” junior Andrew Rule, the Rédacteur-En-Chef (Editor-In-Chief) of FNHS said. “This is such a huge tragedy in not just France but also Baghdad and Beirut, and since we are sort of representatives of the French language and by extension the French nation at Harker, we wanted to make sure this is addressed. This is our way of doing that.”
Many students stopped by the booth to express their sympathy towards the recent tragedies.
“What’s happening in France is devastating and for families being affected by it,” Neeraj Aggarwal (10) said. “It’s hard, and I wanted to show my support.”
The hearts are currently posted on the FNHS wall in Main, and the organization will be hanging up more tomorrow.
