![“[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)
Did you know: Nikhil Dharmaraj’s journey through speech
Nikhil Dharmaraj (9) placed first in Original Oratory at the District National Qualifying Tournament for the National Speech and Debate Association’s National Tournament from March 18 to March 20. He will represent California at the National Tournament from June 11 to June 18.
May 5, 2016
Nikhil Dharmaraj (9) joined Harker’s speech and debate team in sixth grade after his parents persuaded him to take public speaking classes at school. After three years of speech and debate at the middle school and now in his first year as a high school competitor, Nikhil has qualified for the National Speech and Debate Association’s National Tournament and will represent California as an Original Oratory participant.
At tournaments, Nikhil competes in the events Original Oratory, in which competitors give a 10-minute speech about a topic of their choice, and Impromptu, where participants receive two minutes to prepare a five-minute speech on one of three topics given at the start of each round.
When Nikhil first began speech and debate, he was intimidated by the more experienced speakers on the team. However, he soon found a family of friends he could ask for advice on his presentations, prepare alongside for tournaments and laugh with during practices.
“I was a really shy kid when I joined the team, which had around 45 people at the time, but the friendships I made in middle school are some that are still lasting today,” Nikhil said. “We’ve all kind of formed this bond and I really felt that when Ms. Momary, my middle school speech and debate coach, told us that ‘team is family.’”
Nikhil Dharmaraj (9) performs his Original Oratory, titled “Sinking, Sinking, Sunk!” at the speech and debate team’s speech showcase on April 4. Nikhil’s speech focused on the benefits of quitting and discussed the importance of knowing how and when to give up.
Throughout his speech and debate career, Nikhil has won many awards at both regional and national tournaments. As a freshman, he placed as an Original Oratory semifinalist at the Heart of Texas Invitational and at the Glenbrooks Tournament. In both seventh and eighth grade, Nikhil competed in the middle school division of the National Speech and Debate Association’s National Tournament.
“I’m most proud of the national tournament I attended in seventh grade, where I won first place [in Original Oratory],” Nikhil said. “I worked every night on my speech and I practiced for a long time months before the competition.”
Nikhil was also a speech captain for the middle school’s speech and debate team. As a leader, he has influenced many other speakers and debaters at school.
“Because Nikhil is such a great orator, I really feel like this has a positive influence on everybody in our speech class,” fellow speech student Taylor Lam (9) said. “His success drives us to succeed more as well so that we can be on the same level as him.”
Aside from speech and debate, Nikhil is a member of Harker’s Programming Club, participates in programming competitions and works on his own computer science projects at home. He also plays the piano and the saxophone and travels to Bucknall every Monday to help coach the lower school’s Jazz Band.
“I take music lessons and I have concerts every semester,” he said. “I’ve been playing the saxophone since the fifth grade, and I was in Harker’s Jazz Band from fifth grade up until seventh grade.”
Nikhil offers the following advice to students interested in joining the speech and debate team.
“I was really shy in sixth grade, so I do know how it feels to be afraid of public speaking,” he said. “I would say that you can’t get over your fear until you face it; you could just try it for one tournament and maybe you’ll realize that you don’t like it or you do. It’s always good to at least take that one chance and see what you think about it.”
Nikhil will compete at the National Speech and Debate Association’s National Tournament in Salt Lake City from June 11 to June 18.
