![“[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)
Upper school celebrates holidays with gift exchange activities
Ashley Jiang (11) peers into a box holding gifts from the journalism program’s annual secret Santa gift exchange. As winter break approaches, upper school students and faculty organize exchanges like secret Santa and white elephant to celebrate the holidays.
December 4, 2016
Garlanded trees, winter-themed ornaments and festive decorations have all appeared around campus, but as winter break approaches, many upper school students and teachers will also celebrate the holidays with Secret Santa, white elephant and wish drive gift exchanges.
Participants in Secret Santa gift exchanges anonymously give to a randomly selected member, while white elephant exchanges involve the redistribution of gifts as they are claimed. Both types of gift exchanges often involve other rules or variations, such as price limits or clues to the giver’s identity.
“We’re doing a white elephant this year, so it’s not really directed gifts or anything, but it should be pretty interesting,” said Oliver Doig (10), whose advisory, advised by English teacher Jennifer Siraganian, has organized a gift exchange. “White elephant doesn’t actually contribute that much [to bonding], because you don’t have to go out of your way to find a gift for someone, but it’s still like you’re coming together and giving gifts, and it’s all in the spirit of Christmas.”
Some students and faculty will also participate in wish drive events, which involve giving presents to low-income households instead of to each other.
“I think it’s fun,” said science teacher Chris Spenner, whose advisory is participating in both a Secret Santa exchange and the Family Giving Tree’s Holiday Wish Drive event. “Because of my focus on sustainability, I can’t help but worry about the consumerism aspect of [gift exchanges], but I think it’s worth, once a year, [to set] aside those concerns for something that brings people together.”
Many advisories, sports teams and other activities have organized gift exchanges to bond and increase involvement as a way for students, advisees or teammates to learn more about each other.
“The whole Secret Santa thing is, in a way, cheer bonding for us. It’s a way to get to know the girls better, because we don’t cheer bond as much as we’d like to because we’re all busy, so it’s just a fun activity to do once the season is over,” said Raveena Panja (11), head captain of the girls cheerleading team, which holds an annual Secret Santa exchange. “They don’t really expect the gifts since it’s secret, so it’s just really enjoyable. It’s a nice experience.”
Some students are also participating in multiple exchanges this holiday season because of the breadth of activities which host them. Junior Aislinn Coveney is involved in two exchanges, one with her advisory and one with the girls soccer team.
“For advisory, it’s just really fun trying to guess who got you the gift, and it’s really funny whenever people guess wrong, because it’s usually really bad,” she said. “For soccer, we write hints, and it’s really fun hearing all the discussions like, ‘oh, I wonder who’s this, who’s that,’ because we do two rounds of a smaller gift and then a bigger gift at the end of the year.”
