![“[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)
Students audition for High School Musical
70 students from all grade levels participated in the musical auditions during the lunch breaks on Nov. 28 and Nov. 29 in Mrs. Lang Ree’s room.
December 3, 2016
Seventy students from all grade levels auditioned for the Harker High School musical auditions at lunch on Nov. 28 and 29 in Ms. Lang Ree’s room.
Students auditioned in groups of around 6 at a time, and were told to read one monologue and one song excerpt in which they had previously prepared. The auditionees stood on a small blue “x” positioned towards the center of the room and faced the judges: Ms. Lang Ree and Ms. Snider. The two judges sat behind a small metal desk, their laptops before them.
The auditions began with either of the judges calling up the first auditionee. The auditionee would then stand on the blue “x” and begin reading their monologue from a paper prepared beforehand, or singing a song excerpt which they had memorized. Before singing, the auditionees provided the pianist, Jonathan Erman, with a music sheet and told him what portion to play.
Tasha Moorjani (9) took part in the auditions and said she felt extremely nervous before the auditions, but that it actually turned out to be both fun and exciting.
“We were pretty nervous, but the auditions were kind of fun in a weird away,” Tasha said.
Brandon Stoll (12) felt that a lot of students, were stressed worrying how well they did in the auditions, whereas many others felt more calm and collected about auditioning.
“For some people it’s stressful, but for other people, they’ll give their all, get what they get, and that’d be good enough for them,” Brandon said.
The rest of the auditionees listened intently as every student slowly but surely went up to sing and read. Every student made sure to move their hands to emphasize words and acted out movements to show emotions. All the while, the judges constantly transitioned from silently listening to the music or words being read to typing away on their laptops, taking notes.
After everyone in the group had auditioned, they would all be thanked and congratulated on coming out, and a new batch of auditionees would be welcomed and let in.
Laura Lang-Ree, the performing arts directors at The Harker School felt that students were inspired to audition for the musical they wanted to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
“[They are inspired by] being a part of something bigger than themselves, and the joy and fun of performing,” Lang-Ree said.
The finished musical production will be showcased to the Harker community in April.
