![“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)
Junior certificate candidates perform in “Winter Song” concert
Mia Giammona (11) performs the song “Ombra ma fui” by George Frederic Handel. The next vocal concert, “United Voices,” will take place on March. 17 at the Mexican Heritage Theater.
January 23, 2016
Junior certificate candidates in Composition, Musical Theater, Voice and Piano performed in the annual vocal and instrumental concert “Winter Song” yesterday at 4 p.m. in the Nichols auditorium.
In previous years, “Winter Song” was vocal solo concert, but it has been expanded to include piano, composition and musical theater. The concert allows students to showcase all they have been working on during the year. Juniors Medha Shah, Soham Khan, Chetana Kalidindi, Mia Giammona, Judy Pan, Connie Miao, Priyanka Chilukuri, Sara Pachauri, Anahita Far and Vedaad Shakib performed in the concert.
Director Susan Nace believes that the concert should be an experience that will help the students’ musical careers in the future
“Students gain a ‘stage time’ experience, practice performance protocol, and continue to work on poise in a supportive, ‘lower stakes’ performance,” Nace said. “[The concert] is also a step to prepare them for their final Senior Showcase performance at Harker.”
Each student performed a song or piece of their choice.
Mia, a vocalist, believes that the certificate program is a way for her to invest herself in what she loves most. Mia performed the song “Ombra ma fui” by George Frederic Handel because she wanted to challenge herself.
“Singing is my favorite thing to do, so why not be immersed in it?” Mia said. “This piece is a big challenge for me because I don’t usually sing this low, and I chose it because I’ve been told that I can’t sing the song because it’s not for a soprano voice, [so that] made me even more determined to sing it.”
Other students, such as Vedaad, decided to stick with pieces that they were comfortable with. Vedaad, a pianist, joined the certificate program to further his education in piano and also experiment with other performing arts.
“I decided to join the certificate program because it not only fosters my growth in piano, but it also allows me to explore other facets of performing arts such as tech theater and dance,” Vedaad said. “I [performed] Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C-sharp minor because it’s the piece I know best.”
The next vocal concert, “United Voices,” will be on March 17 at the Mexican Heritage Theater and will feature vocal groups from all three campuses.
