![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)
Upper school debaters finish strong at NDCA National Championships
Courtesy of Jenny Achten
Harker’s NDCA national competition attendees pose for a group photo at Weber State University. In Lincoln-Douglas debate, Srivatsav Pyda (12) advanced to the quarterfinals, while Emmiee Malyugina (12) and Serena Lu (11) advanced to the octafinals in the event.
April 13, 2017
Members of the upper school debate team recently participated in the National Debate Coaches Association’s National Championships, which took place from April 8 to 10.
The NDCA National Championships, hosted this year by Weber State University, is an annual national high school debate tournament. This year, from the 10 Harker students who participated in the tournament, Srivatsav Pyda (12) advanced to quarterfinals and Emmiee Malyugina (12) and Serena Lu (11) to the octafinals in Lincoln-Douglas debate.
“Coming to the tournament I had a week-long spring break, so I was feeling pretty good,” Srivatsav said. “I was a little bit rusty after not having debated in the Cal tournament. Other than that, I was pretty confident, and I enjoyed the experience.”
Srivatsav also shared his thoughts on the team’s performance at the tournament, stating that he was pleased with how the Harker team presented themselves as competitors at the event.
“I think Harker as a team did really, really well, especially since we brought six underclassmen,” Srivatsav said. “A lot of our underclassmen have shown a lot of growth since the beginning of this season. Not only did we have a good finish, but I think this also sets up a stage for us to having a really, really good next year.”
This tournament was also Molly Wancewicz’s (12) last competition as a member of Harker’s debate team. She participated in Policy debate, along with partner Anusha Kuppahally (10), and won three of the six preliminary rounds of the event.
“[Molly] has been an absolutely wonderful captain and team leader,” debate coach Jenny Achten said. “All the students were really supportive of Molly, and she got to pick where we had our last team dinner. I think it was fun for her and fun for the team.”
The speech and debate team’s next national tournament is the Tournament of Champions, which will be held at the University of Kentucky from April 29 to May 1.
