![“[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)
Spirit to host beach clean-up, hang-out
Students sign up for the beach trip hang-out. The trip will be held tomorrow.
November 21, 2015
Spirit club will host an open community beach hangout and service trip at Santa Cruz tomorrow.
The bus will leave from the upper school campus at 2:30 p.m., and will return around 9 p.m.
Activities at the beach include making food, cooking smores and having a bonfire.
“It’s just mainly so people can go out and have fun with each other, relax,” said Director of Upper School Community Service Kerry Enzensperger. “There’ll be supervision; it’s with your classmates and just [to] get people out having fun together.”
Spirit Leadership Team worked with the Community Events Committee to create an event with both relaxation and community service components during the trip. Students will participate in a beach cleanup for one hour, and relax for the rest of the day. The hour of service counts towards the school requirement.
Permission slips for the trip were due Nov. 11. In the case of rain, students will head to an indoor venue.
“We wanted to offer a way for students to have fun, and at the same time give back to the community and earn service hours towards their graduation requirement, and the green team offered to be a part of that,” Activities and Clubs director Eric Kallbrier said.
Spirit president Layla Walker (12) commented on her goals for the trip.
“I’m excited to have our community be able to bond outside of the walls of Harker and be away from the competitiveness that is bound by school and think about other things than tests and quizzes and homework,” she said.
Another group of sign-up students will head to EcoMagic tomorrow for a service trip.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on November 20, 2015.
