![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.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)
School meeting recap 3/22
Upper school Director of Learning, Innovation and Design Diane Main addressed terms to describe one’s sexuality during her presentation about GSA’s club week. GSA will be selling food and pearl milk tea throughout all of this week.
March 22, 2017
Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) has its club week this week and will be selling coffee cake and pearl milk tea throughout the week. GSA meets in Abel Olivas’ room on B-days during long lunch, and students can email [email protected] to join.
Harker students now have a new opportunity to log their community service hours with the non-profit organization Teaching Innovation, Leadership and Entrepreneurship (TILE). TILE will host events for students who do not have access to business resources and invite local leaders to talk about how to start businesses and nonprofits as high schoolers. If interested, students can email Keval Shah (10) or Jacob Kim (10).
Mathematics teacher Dr. Lola Muldrew, principal of Harker’s Summer Institute, will be offering a course on study skills in the summer for students looking for ways to improve their time management skills. English teacher Dr. Beth Wahl will also teach a course on Greek and Roman mythology during the summer. For more information, students can visit the Summer Institute website or email Dr. Muldrew.
The annual Harker Research Symposium will take place on April 15 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Saratoga campus. The event will include student poster sessions, workshops, alumni talks and a chemistry magic show. General registration for the event will open this Friday.
At the National Speech and Debate Association’s national tournament qualifier last weekend, Nikki Solanki (9) was second alternate in Programmed Oral Interpretation, Avi Gulati (9) placed second in Original Oratory with Nikhil Dharmaraj (10) winning first place in the same event. Avi and Nikhil will travel to Alabama in June to compete in the national tournament.
Speech and debate teacher Marjorie Hazeltine will host a clothing exchange in her room on April 14 during long lunch. Sarisha Kurup (12) and Anahita Far (12) also contributed to the event’s organization. Students can bring any clothes, shoes or accessories in good condition that they want to donate.
Academic Student Body (ASB) president Sandip Nirmel (12) delivered the annual State of the School address, where he discussed the current state of the school community and detailed what student council had done in terms of projects so far this year.
The ASB council for the 2017-2018 school year was also announced, with Jimmy Lin (11) winning the position of president, Neil Ramaswamy (10) vice president and Megan Huynh (11) treasurer.
