![“[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: Raveena Kapatkar learns independence through past experiences
“The future will always be there, and to a certain extent you need to mold your life to achieve your future goals. But in doing so, you can’t get so caught up that you forget to live in the present and start to lose yourself. I’ve learned that all these trivial moments are what make for the best memories and it is important not to forget that,” Raveena Kapatkar (12) said.
February 11, 2017
Although Raveena Kapatkar (12) has lived most of her life in the U.S., her time spent in India has had a huge impact on her life.
When Raveena was nine years old, she moved to Hyderabad in South India where she attended fourth and fifth grade at Indus International School. Raveena credits her independence to the school’s teaching approach.
“It’s a completely different experience from Harker and regular schools in the U.S. in the sense that we didn’t really have any tests,” she said. “It was all project oriented and very hands on.”
For the last unit of fifth grade, the students designed the curriculum. For Raveena’s group’s unit about resources in the environment and garbage and pollution, she and a friend independently organized a field trip for the class to go to one of the main recycling facilities in Hyderabad.
“All these experiences really helped me become more independent and gave me real life experiences, and that’s one thing I really miss about how we were taught there,” she said. “I really learned a lot about both myself and school.”
Raveena’s life in India helped her learn the importance of the present.
“The future will always be there, and to a certain extent you need to mold your life to achieve your future goals,” Raveena said. “In doing so, you can’t get so caught up that you forget to live in the present and start to lose yourself. I’ve learned that all these trivial moments are what make for the best memories and it is important not to forget that.”
Over the past summer, Raveena worked at an internship for TV9, an Indian satellite television news network, in Mumbai. The internship allowed her to build off of her involvement in journalism, as she is currently the co-Editor-in-chief of Harker Aquila.
“It was a pretty casual setting, in the sense that I was interning under the graphics department, and I got to see how the whole process worked of a broadcast station starting from how they got the stories to how they got everything up and live on TV,” she said.
The people at the station spoke in only Hindi and Marathi, so Raveena had to adjust to her surroundings.
“I had to spend five weeks speaking in just Marathi, and I could only speak to my mom in English, and that was an interesting experience for me,” she said.
This year, Raveena’s AP Studio Art concentration focuses on Indian culture and patterns.
Raveena has done art and painting her whole life, but she became more involved with it this year.
“Senior year I took it upon myself to get back into something that helps me relax, which is art,” she said.
