![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.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)
Upper school students receive results from Synopsys Science Fair
April 13, 2016
The Synopsys Science Fair took place on March 17 at the San Jose Convention Center where students from Santa Clara County interested in science, technology, engineering, and math are challenged to go beyond their classroom studies to do independent project-based research.
At this year’s Synopsys, Harker had 34 students who received awards, out of which there were 17 first place winners, seven 2nd place winners , ten honorable mentions, and several specialized prizes. All students recognized all eligible to compete in the California State Science Fair (CSSF). Additionally,, Amy Dunphy (10), Rishab Gargeya (11), Manan Shah (11), Jonathan Ma (12), Sadhika Malladi (12) were selected to compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Phoenix, Arizona on May 9-10.
Many of the students began preparations and working on their projects during the summer. Sneha Bhetanabhotla (11) finished her three month long project over the summer, and before the actual Synopsys fair she created a poster board along with a powerpoint to condense her research. Sneha, who has done Synopsys since sixth grade, received an Honorable Mention in the Regulated Research Institution (RRI) Physical Science and Engineering Category.
“Receiving the awards feels good because I feel proud of the work I did last summer and I feel like getting an award recognizes all the hard work and effort I put into it,” Sneha said.
While some students were pleased with their accomplishments, others felt they could reach a higher potential, such as Cindy Wang (9), who worked with Katherine Zhang (9).
“We wanted more specialty awards and those are very competitive, so I guess we will try more next year,” Cindy said.
All participants have various inspirations for competing, and Anooshree Sengupta (10) found the opportunity to choose a specialized research topic intriguing.
“I started in 8th grade and I thought it was cool to do research where you can chose stuff you are interested in and go further and learn more,” Anooshree said.
Chris Spenner, upper school science teacher, feels there is more value to Synopsys than awards.
“I feel like they are all accomplishing things, but I would not say the awards from Synopsys are the accomplishment. It’s the experience they are having and the realization that research is hard and slow, but also that is what can make it rewarding,” Spenner said.
The 2016 California State Science Fair, which students selected will be competing in, takes place in Los Angeles from May 23-24.
