![“[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)
Quiz bowl club competes in Cal Cup and National History Bowl
Nikhil Manglik (11) reads practice Quiz Bowl questions from his laptop during their practice. The Quiz Bowl team practices every Wednesday in Andrea Milius’s room, and their next tournament is March 5.
March 3, 2016
The Quiz Bowl team competed in two tournaments of both the Cal Cup, Oct. 24 and Nov.14, and National History Bowl, Nov.31 and Jan. 17, among other smaller competitions this season.
In the first round of Cal Cup, the team placed fourth and tied for third in their second tournament. At the National History Bowl, the team reached the quarterfinals the first trip and the semifinal round the next time.
At the tournaments, the members participate in a team of four, and if one teammate answers incorrectly, the entire team is locked out. However, at practice, all the students buzz in as individuals to make sure everyone has a chance to answer questions.
Quiz Bowl topics test the general knowledge of participants and cover facts from a variety of subjects such as art, history, literature and science. According to Nikhil Manglik (11), co-president, the club has made progress since he first joined in freshman year.
“One thing that happened was that when I came to this club it consisted of just me, a friend, a junior, and three very bored seniors,” Nikhil said. “I have been proud that I have been able to bring it to a more engaged place.”
Andrew Semenza (10) was inspired to join Quiz Bowl at the club fair last year. He has gone to the novice tournament at Bellarmine and the second Cal Cup tournament so far this season.
“I went to Club Fair in 9th grade, and it seemed like an interesting thing to do,” he said. “I eventually started to come to practice more regularly, and I started to enjoy it more.”
Rahul Bhetanabhotla (10), another member of the team, enjoys spending time with his teammates at the practices.
“It is a really fun environment and you get a mix of actually learning stuff and getting to mess around,” he said.
Club practices are held every Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Andrea Milius’ room. The team will compete in two competitions at Berkeley on March 5 and April 2. Following that, they will compete in the History Bee and Bowl Nationals on April 23, and then Quiz Bowl Nationals during the last week of May into the first week of June.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on March 3, 2016.
