![“[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)
Snap Inc. releases Snapchat Spectacles
Wikimedia Commons
October 3, 2016
Snap Inc. (formerly the company Snapchat) announced their first hardware product, Snapchat Spectacles on Sept. 24.
The Spectacles are worn as sunglasses and have cameras that record a 115 degree view and can take 10 second videos with the press of a button. The videos are uploaded instantly to Snapchat.
On the same day as announcing the Spectacles, Snapchat changed its name to Snap Inc. while keeping the name of its app as Snapchat. This name change is intended to allow for the release of more new products.
According to a Sept. 24 Snap Inc. press release, the spectacles will feature one of the smallest wireless video cameras in the world, which can take a day’s worth of Snaps on a single charge.
Students are not certain about the convenience of the the Spectacles.
“I think they are pretty interesting but I do not know how useful they will really be, because it does not take that much effort to [take] a short video with your phone,” Nirban Bhatia (11) said. “Maybe it might be more convenient for others.”
Other students think the appearance of the sunglasses sets them apart from similar products.
“It still looks good, unlike other things like the Google glasses [Google Glass] – which look really, really weird,” Ayesha Baweja (9) said.
The sunglasses will cost $129.99. It is slightly cheaper than the average Fitbit and a fraction of the cost of the Google Glass before it was discontinued.
Although the direction is right, some students would like to see more happening with the new product.
“I think it’s good, and that it can progress further, but I don’t know how new and progressive they are in terms of the actual technology.” Jared Anderson (10) said
Although they do not quite consider the product completely unique, students did praise the idea.
“I think they are pretty cool, because like if you are like biking or like skateboarding or just walking around, you can just turn them on and don’t have to take your phone out; it’s kinda more immersive.” Christopher Leafstrand (10) said.
Reservations aside, the Spectacles offer a glimpse of an interesting future.
“I guess every single accessory that people wear nowadays will start to become more and more integrated into the applications on their phone,” Andrew Gu (12) said. “That means that in the future, social media will become a much bigger component of everyone’s life.”
Snap Inc. has yet to announce the release date for the Spectacles.
