![“[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)
Bay Area prepares for Super Bowl 50
Santa Clara has been preparing the city and Levi’s Stadium for Super Bowl 50, which will take place on Feb. 7.
January 29, 2016
A year before the completion of Levi’s Stadium in 2014, The City of Santa Clara and The NFL have been preparing for Super Bowl 50, taking place Feb. 7, 2016.
Joanne Pasternack, Vice President for Community Relations for the 49ers and a Harker parent, organized special community projects in lieu of the Super Bowl.
“One of the exciting things about having the world really focusing its attention here on Silicon Valley as we go into Super Bowl 50 is that we have the opportunity to bring national, international nonprofits into the Bay Area to do some tremendous community work and to help with the under-resourced or underserved in some way in our community,” Pasternack said.
With a projected four million dollars available to the community, Super Bowl 50 will be the most philanthropic Super Bowl in history. They will be working with upcoming programs which include KaBOOM!, a one day playground construction in association with ESPN and Disney, a Valley Christian facilitated flag football game, marking the inauguration of flag football in the Northern California Special Olympics, Wounded Warriors, and quite a few schools throughout the Bay Area and many others.
“One thing that’s really important to distinguish,” Pasternack said, “is that it’s separate from the 49ers but I do serve on the legacy grant committee. The 49ers have certainly had a voice in helping to determine allocation of those grants, but, ultimately, that is coming from the Super Bowl 50 host committee and from the legacy grant committee.” The KaBOOM! will take place Tuesday, Feb. 2, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and, later that day, the flag football match starts at 7 p.m.
The hotel prices around the Levi Stadium area have also had a dramatic increase in prices. Hyatt Regency Hotel Santa Clara, which usually has rooms starting around 300 dollars a night, have increased their prices four-fold to 1200 dollars a night during the Super Bowl weekend.
There are over 60 community based events in the ten days leading into Super Bowl 50.
“Throughout the week, there will be lots and lots of different events,” Pasternack said. “For example the ‘NFL Experience’ which is up in San Francisco: we have a kid’s day up there where there will be thousands of kids from under-resourced schools who will have an opportunity to come experience that for free.”
There will also be special events for military, families in need, Make-A-Wish, and others.
“I think it’s exciting that we are able be so close to such a big event that the entire nation watches,” Aman Ahluwalia (10) said. “It’s cool that we have the opportunity to go there, and I’ll definitely be watching it.”
The Lombardi Trophy is pictured on a poster that has been draped on the side of Levi’s Stadium. The winner of Super Bowl 50 receives this trophy.
