![“[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)
National Honor Society holds service fair
Students spoke to representatives from organizations that provide service opportunities for high school students. The Service Fair took place on Sept. 29 in Nichols.
October 16, 2016
Students attended a service fair organized by involvement from the Harker community, Harker National Honor Society (NHS) and Key Club which held organizations that set up booths to recruit students for service, on Sept. 29 in Nichols Hall.
NHS piloted the service fair in April last school year, and its success moved NHS to include other organizations at the event.
“It’s something I’ve seen done in other schools,” said upper school biology teacher and NHS advisor Mike Pistacchi. “We got a little pilot fair last [school] year with 10 organizations in the spring. Eventually, we got in touch with [Kerry] Enzensperger and teamed up with the school’s community and made this happen. I want the organizations to connect with the volunteers, and I want the students to explore the different types of service.”
NHS held several organizations that presented to students to recruit volunteers. Many organizations, including the Outdoor Science School in Santa Cruz, involves tutoring.
“What we look for is high school students to be mentors for younger students,” Outdoor Science School cabin leader coordinator Ben Hammon said. “As a cabin leader, you’re responsible for 10-plus students and get to know them and do activities with them. A lot of students seem to know us, which is great, and it’s been very welcoming.”
Several students set up booths for their own organizations, such as senior Parth Pendurkar’s program Kidz Kode.
“Kidz Kode is about teaching kids to code on a fundamental level,” Parth said. “It’s a super easy way to get kids into programming. So far, we have a couple dozen volunteers, and we have spoken to a couple hundred students.”
The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an organization that feeds lunch to underprivileged kids in India.
“We put together fundraisers, which is the best way to earn money and we have been feeding around 1.5 children a day across 24 cities and 10 states,” club organizer Aarzu Gupta (9) said. “We’ve got more [signups] than we’ve expected.”
Students walked around the service fair, looking at each booth and deciding which ones to join.
“I signed up for the Forbes community service,” Daulet Tuleubayev (11) said. “It’s a great way to get community service hours, and they pay you. I also do it for the kids.”
The induction ceremony for new Harker NHS members took place last Tuesday.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on October 10, 2016.
