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![“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)
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![“[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)
Sophomore class embarks on annual ropes course outing
Courtesy of Diana Moss
Sophomores Taylor Vaughan and Elise Mayer conquer the Giants’ Ladder, helping out each other to scale the distance between the rungs. The class of 2019 trip occurred on August 18.
August 19, 2016
The class of 2019 travelled to the Koinonia Conference grounds in the Santa Cruz Mountains to participate in the annual sophomore ropes course trip on Thursday.
The sophomores were separated into four groups of six advisories and they engaged in various challenges and team building activities. Each group visited a different course that consisted of five separate ropes course elements such as the leap of faith, a jump from a platform 20 feet above ground, and the Giant’s Ladder, a massive rope ladder with rungs several feet apart that students ascended in pairs.
Sophomore Kelly Shen’s group went on a course that included the V and the Spiderweb, activities that both required reliance on a partner to complete.
“The goal of the V was to get as far down the V as possible while staying connected and supporting each other- it was really fun,” Kelly said. “The spiderweb was a game where you have thirty minutes to plan and prepare with your team.The way you score points is to go through the different levels and get your team through.”
While their classmates traversed the ropes and took part in the activities, members of the advisories observed and supported their peers by chanting cheers and singing songs.
“It was very exciting and encouraging to have my advisory around me and to cheer for my advisory,” Matthew Hajjar (10) said.
For most sophomores, the ropes course was a novel and thrilling experience. While some students best enjoyed the more hands-on elements of the ropes course , others preferred activities like the zipline, which was more of a thrill than a test of balance and agility.
“I thought the zipline was the best even though I did scream because it was my first time going on a proper zipline,” Natasha Maniar (10) said. “I’ve never really done these types of courses before, so it was a great experience for me.”
Overall, the adrenaline-spurring outing provided sophomores with the opportunity to grow closer with their advisory members and to challenge themselves in new ways.
Sophomore Cameron Jones prepares to cross “Chaos”, a treetop obstacle course consisting of elements such as see-saws, a giant wheel and zigzag planks. The class of 2019 trip occurred on August 18.
“They seemed really happy about doing what they were doing: taking risks, being with the class and congratulating the people that really did a lot,” Christopher Florio, student dean of the class of 2019, said. “I’m really excited to build off this day for the rest of the year.”
As the sophomores spent time at the ropes course, the class of 2018 also took on the outdoors by embarking on the class rafting trip, while freshmen orientation occurred on Davis Field and the seniors enjoyed a final day of summer before Matriculation.
