![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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)
San Francisco 49ers season comes to an end, and so does Tomsula’s job
The cheerleaders and singer prepare for the national anthem before the start of the last game of the season at Levi’s Stadium. This stadium will be the home of Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7.
The cheering and clapping and yelling came to a halt as fans dressed in bright red 49ers merchandise walked up the rows of seats to exit the stadium. Within seconds, half of the stadium’s seats emptied as the 49ers defense allowed the St. Louis Rams offense to come within field goal range, giving them a chance to score and possibly win the last game of the season in overtime.
On the field, the situation was tense. The 49ers team ran frantically to the field or off to the sidelines to prepare for the field goal kick. As the time began to start counting down, the Rams’ kicker kicked the ball, intended to land straight in the middle of the field goal post.
But in one short second, the quiet of the stadium turned into an excited uproar, as the remaining fans stood up out of their seats and high-fiving even the people they didn’t know. 49ers cornerback Dontae Johnson had just blocked the field goal and given his team the opportunity to win the last game of their 2015-16 season. Within the next two minutes, the 49ers offense brought the ball to their own 13-yard line, ending the game as their kicker Phil Dawson successfully kicked the game-winning field goal.
And with that, the 49ers won their last game on Jan. 3 at Levi’s Stadium, resulting in a 5-11 season record. Ecstatic fans exited the stadium cheering “Let’s go Niners!”, their voices echoing through the streets of Santa Clara. In spite of this win, within hours of the end of the game, news quickly spread that 49ers owner Jed York fired head coach Jim Tomsula.
This last game epitomizes the 49ers experience with a series of ups and downs this season, mostly downs.
While the 2016 Pro Bowl committee selected two players from the 49ers defensive line, Navorro Bowman and Joe Staley, to play among outstanding players in a non-league game against each other, the team overall experienced several difficult situations throughout the season.
On Nov. 2, the team traded tight end Vernon Davis, who spent his 10-year career all with the 49ers, to the Denver Broncos in exchange for draft picks in the coming years’ drafts, leaving the team with a much younger offense.
That same week, after quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the team off with a 2-6 record, the coaching staff decided to bench Kaepernick in favor of backup Blaine Gabbert as the starting quarterback. Gabbert played the remainder of the season, while Kaepernick remained sidelined with a shoulder injury.
In spite of these changes, the team still ended the season with a losing record that did not qualify them for the playoffs again this year. Last season, the team end with an 8-8 record, prompting their decision to fire Jim Harbaugh, who now coaches his alma mater’s team, the Michigan Wolverines.
With another record that resulted in playoff elimination, York once again fired the head coach this year in hopes of attempting to rebuild the team again for the next season.
With the 49ers out of the running for the Super Bowl ring, 12 other NFL teams and the Bay Area now look to prepare for Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7 at Levi’s Stadium. While one of the 12 contending teams will take home the championship on Feb. 7, Bay Area’s team will not be on the field for the NFL’s biggest game of the season.
Trisha Dwivedi (12) is the Managing Editor of Harker Aquila. She was a reporter her freshman year, Business Manager of the Winged Post her sophomore year...
Meilan Steimle (12) is co-Editor-in-Chief of the Winged Post. She was a reporter her freshman year, Winged Post Opinion Editor her sophomore year and Winged...