![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.jpg)
![“[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)
Humans of Harker: Rishab Gargeya harnesses a love for computer science
“Rather than an experience, what defines me is that I grew up in the Bay Area. It’s just such a formative area to grow up in; you’ll just understand the world at a different level than you will growing up anywhere else, especially going to Harker too. I’ve been at Harker for 12 years now, and I think it’s really made me a different person than I would be growing up anywhere else. I’m not saying that’s a good or bad thing, but it’s just formative for me,” Rishab Gargeya (12) said.
December 21, 2016
Rishab Gargeya (12) aims to help solve real-world problems using his wide range of work in computer science.
“I do a lot of computer science work. I’m pretty passionate about coding,” Rishab said. “Basically what I try to do is analyze correlations [and] analyze connections between various types of data that maybe were previously not known to exist, and then try to extrapolate that to some sort of impactful real-world application.”
Rishab’s work has had a variety of applications. He was named a Google Science Fair finalist for his creation of a smartphone app that can detect and diagnose common eye problems from an image of the retina.
“My computer science work is pretty broad. It encompasses all types of data,” Rishab said. “In the sense I say I’m driven, what motivates me is just interesting problems. If I see something interesting that I want to fix, something interesting that could be done differently, I just feel motivated to change that.”
Arjun Subramaniam (12), co-editors with Rishab of the student-run scientific journal Harker Horizon, describes Rishab as both open and hardworking.
“He’s definitely a very kind person. He’s the kind of person that you would talk to about your problems,” Arjun said. “When he really cares about something, he goes out for it, without any real thought of how hard it might be and what the challenges are. He really will persevere and put in the work that’s not necessary, but that’s above what’s required.”
While computer science is Rishab’s main interest, he also enjoys the sport of squash.
“Most of the work I do outside of computer science is just schoolwork. I play squash recreationally,” Rishab said. “I’ve played various types of sports. I stuck to squash a little bit more since I ended up liking it more. A lot of my friends play too, so we just have fun playing.”
Rishab’s work with computer science has given him a wide perspective on contemporary problems and his own environment.
“Rather than an experience, what defines me is that I grew up in the Bay Area. It’s just such a formative area to grow up in; you’ll just understand the world at a different level than you will growing up anywhere else,” Rishab said. “Growing up in an educational environment where I can pursue anything I really want to and understand things at a deeper level and get a very objective perspective on anything I really want to, that’s pretty good. I’m pretty happy for that.”
