![“[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)
Girls lacrosse loses to Castilleja School at home
Senior Natasha Mayor dodges opposing Castilleja offense player while running to the goal. The girls lost to Castilleja School today 13-1.
March 8, 2016
The varsity girls’ lacrosse team lost 13-1 to Castilleja School at 4:30 p.m. during their home game today.
“Our start wasn’t very strong today, and the other team played really well,” sophomore Ellen Minkin said. “I think we really improved in the second half after we finally started playing better defense.”
After the first half of the game ended with a score of 0-10, the team discussed a new strategy during their halftime break. In the remainder of the match, co-captain Natasha Mayor (12) scored the team’s only goal and goalie Aislinn Coveney (10) blocked many of the opponent’s attempts to score more points.
In the second half of the game, the Eagles were able to play with better defense. With their new strategy, they only allowed their opponents to score an additional three goals.
“Today, I definitely think we could have come out stronger in the first half, but they were a totally different team in the second half,” assistant coach Andrew Newmark said. “Their defense was definitely at its best in the later part of the game, and everything was a lot crisper. Hopefully next time, we can do that right from the start.”
Junior Priyanka Taneja races with two Castilleja players to chase down a ball. The girls lost to Castilleja School today 13-1.
A new goalie this year, Aislinn spoke about her experience in today’s game.
“Lacrosse has been kind of difficult to play because it’s new to me, but it’s also really fun,” she said. “The team encouraged me to play a lot better throughout this game, and we definitely improved our defense.”
Despite another loss that contributes to their 0-5 overall season score so far, co-captain Alayna Richmond (11) thinks that the team has potential to improve and do well in the remainder of the season.
“I think we definitely played the best defense of the whole season today, but I also think that our team needs to focus on communication,” she said. “Right now, we are playing very individualistically. To have the coordination to play well against some of these really good teams, I think we really need to work together to get the ball to the goal.”
The girls now prepare to compete against Newark High School at home this Friday.
