![“[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)
Sophomore class attends LIFE assembly on diversity
Diversity committee member Mark Janda introduces the assembly to the sophomore class. The assembly was on diversity.
January 28, 2016
The sophomore class attended a LIFE assembly on diversity after lunch today in Nichols Hall.
The assembly started with history teacher Mark Janda introducing the topic. Then, AP Spanish Language and Culture students, taught by Abel Olivas, demonstrated a salsa dance that the entire class was going to learn.
“It’s awkward, there’s vulnerability, but you keep doing it and it becomes rhythmic, it becomes easier, it becomes fun,” Olivas said. “We tried to sort of mix it up so they were dancing with someone they were not as necessarily as comfortable with so that really kind of symbolizes the discomfort at first with working on diversity issues, which is a different person there, trying to figure out how to be in step with them.”
The entire class soon followed the example of math teacher Lola Muldrew and Fine Arts teacher Pilar Aguero-Esparza, who are each a part of the Diversity Committee, as well as Olivas and his students. The class of 2018 learned basic back-and-forth and side-to-side steps, then moved on to more advanced moves such as doing turns.
AP Spanish students Bobby Schick (10) and Morgan Douglas (10) show their class how to do the dance during the LIFE assembly. The assembly was on diversity.
“I thought it was a really amazing experience, it helped me bond with my fellow classmates,” Jimmy Lin (10) said. “But at the same time it taught me to always be on the lookout for something that might not be in my comfort zone.”
Sophomore Markus Wong had similar thoughts regarding the outcome of the assembly.
“I thought it was really fun that the whole grade could dance,” Markus said. “The one thing that I took away from it would be that life is not about covering up for your mistakes, but about working with other people to make those mistakes not mistakes.”
This diversity assembly was only the first of many more to come, as the committee stresses the importance of educating the students about cultural variety.
“Diversity work is messy, and dancing is messy, but that’s okay. There can be missteps; that’s okay,” Muldrew said. “This is just the beginning of the conversation, we’re not done. We’re starting a conversation and that conversation never ends.”
The next LIFE assembly planned for the class of 2018 is on March 28.
