![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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)
Speech team holds annual showcase
Andrew Tierno (11) performs his Dramatic Interpretation, “A New Kind of Gravity,” which follows a security guard at a battered women’s shelter who forms a fatherly bond with a young girl who has an abusive father. However, he must battle his feelings of anger towards the father when the latter reappears in the little girl’s life.
April 8, 2016
The Harker Upper School’s Speech team performed selected pieces at the end of the competitive season in Nichols Auditorium Monday afternoon.
Speech, along with Debate, comprises the Forensics program. Unlike in Debate, where students compete directly, Speech competitors give an individual oration to a set of judges and receive a ranking. The speech showcase represents the cumulation of a year of competition and preparation.
“It was a great way to get our speech program out there into the harker community,” Nikhil Dharmaraj (9) said. “A lot of people don’t know what speech entails, so this annual event is always super helpful in terms of gaining some publicity for our team.”
Speech is split into pre-prepared events, where students memorize a 10-minute piece to perform, and extemporaneous events, where students are prompted during their round and have a limited amount of time to write and prepare a speech during the tournament.
“Getting into character is all about understanding who you are playing. You need to be able to answer certain questions about your person confidently,” Andrew Tierno (11) said. “Who are they? What do they want? What’s around them? Boxers or briefs?”
Nikhil opened the showcase with his Original Oratory, “Sinking, Sinking, Sunk,” a self-researched call-to-action encouraging people using the sunk cost fallacy to let go of failed endeavors.
Nikhil Dharmaraj (9) performs his Original Oratory, “Sinking, Sinking, Sunk!” discussing how people often refuse to quit endeavors in which they have invested a lot of time or money, even though failure may be inevitable. In discussing the problem with the sunk cost fallacy, this speech reminds us that, sometimes, it’s okay to let go
Nikhil’s Original Oratory was followed by Enya Lu (9), who performed a Dramatic Interpretation of “Lost,” which focuses on a first-person account by a woman whose husband died during the 9/11 attacks.
Andrew also presented a Dramatic Interpretation: “A New Kind of Gravity,” a narrative that centers around the internal turmoil of a security guard at a battered woman’s shelter.
Next, Jay Menon (9) gave his Original Oratory, “Take a Break!,” a self-researched call-to-action about the merits of leisure time.
Divya Rajasekharan (11) and Sana Aladin (11) finished the showcase with their Duo Interpretation of “The Accused,” a film that follows the evolving relationship between a victim of gang-rape and her lawyer.
Sana Aladin (11) & Divya Rajasekharan (11) perform their Duo Interpretation, A 10-minute cutting of the movie The Accused, which follows a victim of gang rape and a lawyer as they prosecute the former’s rapists.
Lisa Liu (12) MCed the event, introducing each member of the team and reflecting on her own experience in Speech as the sole senior on the team.
“Like running, speaking is one of those things that make you feel absolutely terrible until it’s over,” Andrew said. “And then there’s no greater rush.”
Although the competitive season is over for the majority of the team, Divya and Sana as well as Nikhil will travel to Mission College for the state tournament after qualifying in March.
