![“[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)
STEM Scene Issue 4
January 29, 2017
F=ma:
Upper school students took the annual F=ma exam last Wednesday, a 75-minute, 25-question multiple-choice test on mechanics.
Hosted by the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Institute of Physics, the F=ma exam is the first exam in a series of contests culminating in the International Physics Olympiad held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in July.
Around 400 high school students will attend the USA Physics Olympiad (mainly) based on their F=ma exam score. Members of the U.S.’s national team for the International Physics Olympiad are selected primarily by their combined score on the Physics Olympiad and the F=ma test.
Regeneron:
The 40 finalists of the Regeneron Science Talent Search, a competition for high school seniors hosted by the Society for Science & the Public, will be announced tomorrow.
Finalists are selected from the 300 Regeneron STS top scholars announced on Jan. 5, nine of whom are upper school students: Kai-Siang Ang, Angela Kim, Sandip Nirmel, Srivatsav Pyda, Evani Radiya-Dixit, Venkat Sankar, Manan Shah, Scott Song and Arjun Subramaniam.
Finalists compete for $1,815,000 in award money and will publicly exhibit their projects on March 12.
NACLO:
Upper school students will take the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NACLO) this Thursday at Harker, one of 126 high schools to host the competition. The NACLO includes logic problems relating to languages that can involve translation, number systems, writing, calendars, language phenomena, phonetics and other linguistic subjects.
High scorers will qualify for an invitational round that selects national winners who can represent the U.S. in the International Linguistics Olympiad in Dublin in August.
CTF:
Computer science students will compete in the Harker Capture the Flag (CTF) on Feb 3 in Nichols Atrium from 3:00 to 5:00. Teams of two to four students compete using one computer in questions involving computer science topics such as string manipulation, greedy algorithms, machine learning, and cybersecurity.
All four rounds — beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert — will be run on the same day.
AMC:
Harker students will take the American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) 10/12 on Feb. 7, a 75-minute, 25-question multiple choice exam.
High-scoring participants will be eligible for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). A combination of AMC 10/12 and AIME scores qualifies participants for the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) or the USA Junior Mathematical Olympiad (USAJMO). An excellent performance on the USAMO or USAJMO qualifies participants for the Mathematical Olympiad summer program in preparation the International Mathematical Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro in July.
