![“[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)
Science Bowl team wins 2017 regionals
Provided by Shaya Zarkesh
The team poses outside the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. From left to right: Venkat Sankar (12), Rajiv Movva (11), Shaya Zarkesh (11), coach Gary Blickenstaff, Derek Yen (11), and Swapnil Garg (11).
February 12, 2017
The school’s Science Bowl team took first at the Science Bowl regional round held yesterday at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
Science Bowl is a national quizbowl-style academic competition sponsored by the US Department of Energy. Teams compete to answer science and math questions ranging from chemistry to physics to Earth science.
Last year, the school’s team advanced to the finals from the winner’s bracket and lost to Lynbrook High School’s team, taking second place. In this year’s finals, Harker’s team advanced to the finals from the loser’s bracket to again face Lynbrook, but ultimately prevailed.
“I’m ecstatic about this year’s regional win,” co-team advisor Robbie Korin said in an email interview. “Harker has had numerous second and third place finishes over the last ten years, so it was just a matter of time before the high school team reclaimed the regional win.”
A school team last qualified for regionals ten years ago with three consecutive wins in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
The team is composed of senior Venkat Sankar and juniors Swapnil Garg, Rajiv Movva, Derek Yen and Shaya Zarkesh. Senior Arjun Subramaniam is also on the team but was unable to attend.
Each of the 69 high school teams that won their regional round has qualified to compete in the national Science Bowl round at Washington, DC in late April. The school’s team will be attending, representing the California counties of Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz.
