![“[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)
UNICEF club prepares for Snowflake Ball fundraiser
Connie Xu (9) and Mishu Nitulescu (10) discuss ideas for the backdrop that will be used at the photo booth. The Snowflake Ball took place on February 27th at Piedmont Hills high school.
March 3, 2016
Harker’s UNICEF club along with other schools hosted the Snowflake Ball on February 27 at Piedmont Hills high school.
Other than Harker, Silver Creek high school, Independence High, and Milpitas High, and the host, Piedmont Hills high school, also participated in the event.
The tickets cost 15 dollars and all the proceeds went to the syrian refugee crisis. UNICEF Spokesperson Chandni Jain introduced the event by giving a speech on what the organization has been and will be doing to aid the cause.
Harker members were assigned to work on the media portion of the event. They documenedt the ball by taking photos and video and put together a compilation. In addition, they set up a banner where people at the dance wrote messages on, and a photo booth where people could get their picture taken.
“We have to make backdrops and plan for all the media, but otherwise the venue is relatively small so setting up the actual physical event shouldn’t be that bad,” officer and media team member Andrew Chang (9) said. “It’s been fun because everyone gets to come together and help paint the backdrops.”
The club is aiming towards raising over 2000 dollars by the end of the year. So far, they have raised around 1600 dollars from their “Trick or Treat” and “Nerf” fundraisers. The club’s LEAP(Leading Effective Awareness through Photography) project was also recognized by UNICEF’s newsletter and posted on its social media accounts.
President Alex Mo (11), who was selected as one of the National Council Officers of UNICEF, believes that a large part of the club’s success could be attributed to the amount of members the club gained in their first year.
“Its inspiring to see so many high school students come together to support a cause so global and important as the crisis.” he said. “I definitely did not expect us to end up with over 200 signed up members.”
After the Snowflake ball, the club plans on improving the structure of the club itself.
“We had a lot of officers this year, and that made organization challenging,” Alex said. “By decreasing the size of the team and increasing interaction with members, I believe that we will have more ideas and more events in the future.”
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on March 3, 2016.
