![“[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)
Gender-Sexuality Alliance at Harker: Interview with Jenny Bourke (12) and Ashley Devlin (9)
November 22, 2015
Winged Post: Why do you think it’s important that Harker has a GSA?
Jenny Bourke: “I think it’s important because I do keep hearing people using slurs, sometimes as a joke. Even if it is, it’s still bad and people [should] be informed that you shouldn’t do this because there are people out there who go through really bad things.”
Ashley Devlin: “When people don’t have help, they get depressed. Educating people and helping people will help reduce that. I do hear [discriminatory slurs]. I think that if we want to reduce it we have to take disciplinary measures against students who do that.”
WP: What was it like speaking during school meeting?
JB: “I think it was a little nerve-racking; there were about 800 people that I was talking to, so that was fun. It didn’t feel wrong in the end. I was talking about myself so it was definitely a subject I knew a lot about.”
AD: “[Speaking at the school meeting] was fun. I got to talk in front of a lot of people about something I actually care about. i felt like it was like educating people a bit.”
WP: How is the Harker community in terms of acceptance in comparison to other communities?
JB: [This community] is definitely more accepting than others that I have been in. There are still problems, but in comparison to the other places, it’s pretty good.”
AD: “I think Harker is better than some places, but it’s not the best. I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone at Harker recently bullying anyone because they were gay or bisexual or transgender or anything.”
