![“[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)
Service Fair welcomes students to explore community service opportunities
AMASE, an art and music school for underprivileged children, was one of many booths at the fair. Representatives described their respective organizations to passersby, providing sign-ups sheets on the stop for interested students.
September 30, 2016
The upper school Service Fair, hosted by NHS, invited all high school students to learn about a variety of volunteer organizations on Thursday in Nichols Atrium.
“I hope that students will recognize that community service is not just a graduation requirement or something that looks good on a college application,” NHS vice president Angela Kim (12) said. “It’s probably one of the most rewarding things you can do because it encourages you to discover what your strengths are and to use those strengths to help others.”
The second annual Service Fair helped students fulfill the community service requirement as they browsed the options in their advisory. Various organizations, such as Key Club and UNICEF, hosted small booths and spoke to Service Fair attendees about the opportunities available for high school students.
“Service Fair definitely promotes awareness for all the volunteer organizations around the Bay Area, but there are also global organizations in which students can achieve all of their community service hours, while also showing potential interest in helping the community for a long time,” Avi Gulati (9), who represented the organization Akshaya Patra at the fair, said.
Each table featured posters, flyers, pictures and descriptions of the volunteer organization they represent to advocate community service and call for volunteers.
With 23 organizations gathered, the fair represented a range of opportunities, such as participating in river cleanups, charity dinners, tutoring sessions and even planning birthdays for underprivileged children from both local areas as well as international organizations.
Following the fair, on selected weekends, students can sign up for community service trips organized by Kerry Enzensperger to fulfill the requirement while contributing to their society in a beneficial way.
Students signed up for various organizations appealing to their interests, such as New Visions of Tomorrow, as shown here. Booths were set up both indoors and outdoors for convenience as students browsed the diverse collection of community service options available.
