![“[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)
Students attend annual Club Fair
Aliesa Bahri (11) and Millie Lin (11) take a picture of Anusha Kuppahally (10) for FEM Club. The annual Club Fair took place on September 6.
September 6, 2016
A four-wheeled robot rolling through the hot, muggy crowd scene was one of the highlights of this year’s Club Fair, held yesterday during long lunch in the Nichols Atrium. Due to the ongoing construction, clubs set up their booths in Nichols Hall instead of the gym.
In order to accommodate all of the clubs that presented at the Club Fair, clubs were allotted space to set up their booths both inside and outside Nichols Hall.
The new arrangement in the Atrium made it more difficult to navigate the club booths.
“It was a lot more hectic than before because of the limited openings,” Dance Club member Christie Chen (10) said. “I feel like it was easier in the gym because everything was in one big circle there, and you could just walk around.”
Others thought that the tighter space helped people explore more clubs.
“I think because of the location change, all the clubs were a lot more packed, which helped to expose all of us to different organizations that we might not have come across otherwise,” Math Club Vice President Jimmy Lin (11) said.
Club Fair, which has been an upper school tradition for seventeen years, showcases the diverse array of clubs and allows clubs to recruit new members. Fifty-seven clubs, including Medical Club, Anime Club, Linguistics Club and Diversity Club set up booths at this year’s club fair.
“Our upper school clubs are meant to be student-driven, so [the Club Fair] is a great opportunity for everyone to walk around and to see what’s being offered, so they can attach themselves to organizations that they feel most passionately about,” said Director of Upper School Clubs Eric Kallbrier.
Club officers and members advocated their clubs by displaying posters and flags, distributing free food and hosting competitions for prospective members. Some clubs also gave performances and demonstrations.
Guys’ Gig performed a song, while Robotics Club drove a robot around the atrium.
“I love all the enthusiasm in Club Fair that I see every year, and it’s so cool to see people doing creative and slightly crazy things,” Upper School campus librarian and Book Blog adviser Lauri Vaughan said.
Clubs used these displays to attract new members, especially freshmen.
“It was noisy, but it was a fun kind of noisy, almost like a concert,” Katelyn Vo (9) said. “I think everyone was really friendly about joining clubs and asking people to join, so that was cool.”
Over the next week, club officers will begin notifying club members about club meetings and activities. Students who still want to sign up for clubs can contact club officers and advisers and ask to be placed on the club’s mailing list.
