![Setter Emma Lee (9) sets the ball to the middle during the match against Pinewood on Sept. 12. “[I’m looking forward to] getting more skilled, learning more about my position and also becoming better friends with all of my teammates, Emma said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DSC_4917-2-1200x795.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasnt been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but Ive had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. Theres so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesnt exist, you can build it yourself, Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasnt making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable, Carter Chadwick (22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
![“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 its played such a major role in who Ive 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 Im [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)
![“[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)
![“Im 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 theres a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyones 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)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you arent going to get those championships if you arent 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)
![“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)
Did you know: junior Arjun Subramaniam sings Carnatic music
Courtesy of Arjun Subramaniam
January 21, 2016
Since he was six years old, Arjun Subramaniam (11) has been singing Carnatic music. Tomorrow, all the time and work he has put into his passion will be displayed in his first two and a half hour concert.
When his parents introduced him to this style of music, Arjun began to take classes from a local teacher. Carnatic music is an Indian classical genre that originated from the southern parts of India. As his passion grew, he advanced from singing different variations of the basic notes to full length songs.
“I think singing is something beyond speaking so there are things that you can express when you sing that can’t when you are just talking,” Arjun said.
At eleven, Arjun switched to a more professional local teacher who sparked an interest to pursue singing as a career. Five years ago, Arjun decided that he needed an expert teacher from India who could really develop his voice. This is when he started learning with Sugandha Kalamegham.
Sugandha is a renowned singer known in India for her deep, powerful voice. She now teaches and performs. Since his teacher lives in India, Arjun learns from her through Skype. He spends his entire summer in India learning from his teacher.
“There’s a certain value of face-to-face learning which you can’t capture from Skype, so I go to India every summer,” Arjun said.
Arjun feels that even though he does not have the opportunity to see her and sing in front of her every week, he expresses his gravitude to have such a teacher who has been such an amazing mentor for him.
At Harker, Arjun is part of Downbeat, one of the upper school’s choirs. He sees the contrast between the Indian classical music outside of school and the western music he performs at Harker.
Arjun will first perform for two and a half hours tomorrow. He will be performing with two live musicians, a violinist and mridangist, a musician who plays the Indian drums.
“It would mean that I have achieved some skill in improvising on stage right on the spot,” Arjun said.
He looks forward to displaying his talent to the audience. “I look forward to performing in front of a lot of people, for the people to enjoy my music, and to have the audience like my presence on stage.”
“Carnatic music has something deep about it, something really fascinating about it that’s really different from western music,” Arjun said.
