![“[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)
Horizon begins online peer-reviewed student journal
Harker Horizon met last Wednesday to discuss their plans for the upcoming year. The club, advised by Chris Spenner, research class teacher, is publishing an online peer-reviewed journal to highlight student research.
March 4, 2016
Harker Horizon, the school’s work-in-progress science journal, plans to publish a first issue online and is currently calling for student researchers, especially Intel or Siemens competitors, to submit articles.
Founded by last year’s seniors, Horizon provides a way for students to publicize their research, put it through peer review and read about other students’ work through publication on their website, http://horizon.harker.org/.
“There’s a lot of great student research being done by students who are both part of Harker’s internship programs and outside of it,” Horizon Editor-in-Chief Sadhika Malladi (12) said. “I think it’s great to have a platform that showcases this work and allows students who are interested in joining research projects to understand what it takes and what kinds of results can be found.”
While Horizon is currently a fledgling group, sporting only four articles on its website, it hopes to gain traction and expand in the coming year. Horizon publishes technical articles that adhere to the academic style employed in professional journals such as “Nature” or “Science.”
“We want to see professional writing,” Horizon Articles Editor Arjun Subramaniam (11) said. “We’re looking for high-quality writing, good subject matter and students who’ve done meaningful research [that] we want to highlight in our journal.”
Horizon is unlike a research journal in some ways – for instance, it also publishes non-technical content in their briefs and perspectives sections.
“[Perspectives are] not very technical – not on the same level as articles or briefs,” Perspectives Editor Cynthia Hao (12) said. “Perspectives have to be accessible to general audiences, which in this case would be freshmen or sophomores without a lot of science knowledge.”
The editorial process of having an article published is meant to resemble that of real scientific journals.
“We have students peer reviewing each others’ work so they can get a taste of what [the publishing] process is like,” Horizon faculty sponsor Chris Spenner said.
While Horizon currently only publishes online, staff members are working to establish Horizon’s infrastructure for greater expansion next year. There are also plans of possibly creating a print issue.
“The goal for this year is to expand and really set up Horizon’s different branches, so that next year, they can be built on even further,” Executive Editor Jonathan Ma (12) said.
Those interested in submitting articles can contact Horizon at [email protected].
