![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: Zahra Budhwani loves storytelling
“Storytelling is a huge part of our society. I don’t think our society could function without telling stories. I think actors sort of take everything that people don’t want to talk about bring it to the light. That’s one of the main reasons I started acting. There’s always something that I can tie to my own life, which is really cool and especially cool when the audience reacts. Becoming a different person is definitely a distraction from everyday stresses and issues, which is very helpful to me,” Zahra Budhwani (12) said.
March 3, 2017
Zahra Budhwani (12) reclines on the bench. She opens her scrapbook and carefully draws a sketch of her character for the next show. Ever since she was five, Zahra had a special place for visual arts in her life.
“I used to do visual arts when I was really little, and then recently I started an art journal which is really easy to keep,” Zahra said. “It’s full of sketches, collages, and a basically scrapbook. I started it a couple of months ago, and it’s kinda just my way to keep a bunch of random memories in one place. Whenever I have something going on in my life its really good way to sort of turn it into something productive. It’s been something that has helped me express myself.”
As part of her diverse identity, Zahra identifies as a practicing Muslim, attending the mosque regularly and helping out her community.
“I think part of the reason why I feel different is because I’m an actual practicing Muslim,” Zahra said. “A lot of people at Harker may identify with a certain religion, but they might not be a practicing or they might consider themselves atheist or agnostic. It’s a huge part of my life. I go to the mosque almost every Friday.”
After she attended a religious camp, Zahra felt more comfortable to practice Islam freely.
“Ever since I was 13, I started consciously thinking about it and sort of trying to make my decision whether I want to pursue it in my life,” Zahra said. “I’m still questioning, but I believe strongly in the basics of Islam. The community and the support system that it brings along is so vital to my life and has taken me so many places. There was a religious camp that I went to, and the instructors allowed us to ask them anything about Islam. I had a lot of interesting conversations there that taught me a lot about the culture.”
Among her several identities, Zahra prides herself in the performing arts. One of her key memories from the program took place last year.
“One of my most memorable shows is the Laramie project,” Zahra said. “It’s a true story, and that was really important to me and all of us because they were real people. It was so important to honor the story and not detract anything or make it too sentimental. There were so many people in the cast that identify as LGBT.”
Ultimately, Zahra believes that acting is a core tenet of society, which is among the reasons that she participates.
“Storytelling is a huge part of our society,” Zahra said. “I don’t think our society could function without telling stories. I think actors sort of take everything that people don’t want to talk about bring it to the light. That’s one of the main reasons I started acting. There’s always something that I can tie to my own life, which is really cool and especially cool when the audience reacts. Becoming a different person is definitely a distraction from everyday stresses and issues, which is very helpful to me.”
