![“[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)
Schooligans: Harker’s patron jokester makes tradition out of April Fools’ Day
March 28, 2017
Lower school math teacher and well known jokester Pat Walsh, who is retiring in June, has experienced his fair share of April Fools’ Day pranks.
His favorite memory at Harker was with one of his students two years ago. In the lower school community, there is a fun “rivalry” between Walsh and next-door English teacher Kate Shanahan, and their students tend to choose a “side.”
Michelle Lou (7), a student at the time, was a “Shaney” and wrote a note to Walsh.
“It was very well written,” Walsh noted. “It was a tremendous Mr. Walsh putdown. I kind of laughed with it and rolled with it; she was a very smart kid.”
Walsh figured he had to have the last word, so he asked elementary school division head Kristian Giammona for help.
“Rather than having egg on my face when she did it, I waited a couple of days,” Walsh said. “I don’t remember whether we had April Fools’ two years ago or not; it was either April Fools’ Day or the closest day to April Fools’ Day. I talked with Mrs. Giammona. I said, ‘Would you mind pulling a prank for me?’”
Michelle was called into Giammona’s office and reprimanded for what she had written.
“Mrs. Giammona laid into her about how disrespectful [she was], ‘How could you ever write something like that about a teacher!’” Walsh said. “The girl looked like she was going to swallow her tongue, scared to death at everything, and [Mrs. Giammona] of course said, ‘April fools!’”
Walsh added that Giammona later regretted her involvement.
Walsh’s favorite prank, however, was executed by his daughter-in-law.
“My daughter-in-law is as much a prankster as I am,” Walsh said.
Last year, she was pregnant with his second grandson, and the birth was due April 8. Walsh and his wife, Terry, were on vacation in early April in Portland, but as they are “over the top grandparents,” both were afraid they would not be able to return home in time for the birth.
“We were coming home on the third of April,” Walsh remembers. “When we told my son and daughter in law, she gave us a look like ‘hmm, I’m surprised that you guys would go on a trip with that being so close.’”
So naturally, she and Walsh’s son schemed up a joke on the unsuspecting grandparents. On April 1, they texted the Walshes, saying that she was going into labor.
“We get a series of text messages, and after about an hour or so, we get a picture of her and the baby. Terry and I are devastated that we’re not there.”
Terry Walsh, who is well-seasoned in pranks from putting up with Pat Walsh’s many over the years, was not so convinced.
“Then all of the sudden my wife puts on her Sherlock Holmes hat and she starts expanding the photo, and she’s able to read, there’s a little white board in [the maternity ward] where they keep all the vital statistics and everything,” Walsh said. “There was evidence on that whiteboard that it was not the new baby; it was a birth from almost two years previous, from our first grandson.”
Although they were fooled, their second grandson, named Marty, was born the next day, April 2.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on March 28, 2017.
