![“[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)
Candidates for ASB deliver speeches at school meeting
Kaitlyn Nguyen (11) asks candidate for ASB president Jimmy Lin (11) a question. Students were given the opportunity to pose any inquiries or concerns they had about the candidates’ plans for the next school year following the speeches.
March 20, 2017
Juniors, sophomores and freshmen listened to Academic Student Body (ASB) candidates’ speeches today during school meeting in the gym. ASB serves as an intermediary council between class councils and the administration and represents the student body as a whole.
While two students, Darren Gu (11) and Neil Ramaswamy (10), ran against each other for the position of vice president, Megan Huynh (11) and Jimmy Lin (11) ran unopposed for the positions of treasurer and president, respectively. No one submitted a form of intent for the position of secretary, and the administration is currently deciding on how to resolve that issue.
Having been the treasurer for the Class of 2018 for the past two years, Megan wishes to extend her knowledge and experience she gained through working with her class to the whole study body.
“I am running for treasurer because I just want to continue on what I have been working on student council for the past two years and to be able to represent the school, not just my class now,” she said.
The only sophomore to run for ASB this year, Neil feels that his work ethic and experience from being on his class council, albeit in a different position, would make him a strong vice president.
“I’m running for vice president because I want to make real lasting change,” he said. “From my experience from being on the council for two years, I’ve come to realize that projects are kind of sometimes forgot about. They’re not really pursued enthusiastically, and I’m going to make sure that whatever I do, even if it fails in the end, I’m going to make sure that I give it 110 percent and make sure that nothing is keeping us hanging.”
Students will vote tomorrow during lunch in the journalism room. Voting for this election will proceed in a process of approval voting, meaning that students can vote for multiple candidates, as opposed to the instant runoff voting system school elections have utilized in previous years.
