![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)
Global reset: facing our future
Climate change’s effect on coastal cities
May 5, 2016
Torrential storms submerged Houston in two feet of rain last week, leading to flooding in the streets and forcing emergency personnel to rescue stranded citizens.
These floods could be a preview into future weather conditions, where climate change may cause coastal cities in states like Florida, Louisiana and California to lose land.
Rochelle Younan-Montgomery, the Associate Program Director for the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE), believes that California cities could face a variety of problems, including sea level rise, pollution, and heat waves.
“We might start seeing sea level rise in the Bay Area, also I know that specifically pregnant women who live near freeways are more susceptible to having complications in pregnancy and the infants in utero are at risk,” she said. “Also with increased heat waves, children and elderly folks are the most vulnerable. Heat-related death, I think, is the number one reason folks are impacted.”
According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, sea level rise will cover land where 6.2 million people live. Coastal cities especially are in danger of flooding due to sea level rise, creating an infrastructure problem.
“The question is for us in the city environment is how are we going to cope in place like South Florida or Metro Miami with all of our particular challenges,” said Dr. Colin Polsky, Director of the Florida Center for Environmental Studies. “The answer is that some of our neighborhoods are going to have to turn into waterlands, and we are going to have to rebuild some of our neighborhoods and we are going to have to start building some buildings in a different way. That’s a big deal, and it’s going to have to require a lot of collaboration.”
Although several coastal cities are in danger of flooding, the consequences can be curbed through reducing carbon emissions, with help from students.
“It’s just believing that young people have the collective power to make a change, and that it’s happened before and will happen again, and doing one thing in a small way in your own life can actually make a huge difference if enough of us are doing it,” Younan-Montgomery said.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on May 4, 2016.
