![“[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 kicks off season
Junior Aditi Maheshwari prepares to catch the ball during a match.
March 27, 2016
The varsity girl’s lacrosse team played their first league game against Burlingame’s Mercy High School yesterday on Davis Field.
The girls have played against top lacrosse teams in their league so far this season, including Archbishop Mitty, Gunn and Castilleja.
Twenty-three games are scheduled for the girls’ lacrosse season. There are six remaining games that will take place at the upper school campus, with the exception of eight games that are anticipated to be off-campus. Although the team has scored their only victory so far against Newark High School, they look to learn from their losses and improve their game.
“Mercy Burlingame is notorious for being one of the best teams in our league, I don’t think we’ve ever beat them before” co-captain Natasha Mayor (12) said. “I think [playing tougher teams has] definitely been a little demoralizing for [us]; it’s hard to have loss after loss but it’s helped us identify [our] weaknesses, especially our defense. We’ve been able to tighten up on our defense and we’ve learned a few new plays on offense to be able to trick out the other teams.”
Shea Tuli (10) is playing lacrosse for the first time this season. After playing on her previous school’s field hockey team, Shea thought that lacrosse would be a good alternative.
“It’s been a tough season so far,” Shea said. “We definitely have some good players out there, so we’ll [finish the season strong.]”
The girls lacrosse team has rituals and traditions that it takes part in before games and during halftime.
“Before every game, we huddle up and put our sticks in the middle and say ‘one, two, three, go Eagles,’ and then we’ll get on the field and go play,” defense player Ellen Minkin (10) said. “During halftime, we talk about things that we could be doing better. Usually, the second half [of the game] is always better than the first, because we have time to get motivated by each other.”
The girls also have traditions such as wearing patterned socks on game days and participating in a “buddy-snack system.” Each team member is assigned to another teammate, and brings their “buddy” a snack every game.
There are no girls lacrosse games scheduled for spring break, but the team’s WBAL playoffs tournament games will take place on May 11 and 13. The locations of the tournament games will be released closer to the end of the season. For more information on the team’s status, check out harkeraquila.com for updates.
