![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: Brendan Tobin lives his life as a creator
“If there’s no place to go, I don’t think your looking hard enough. You can always make things better, be in in terms of technology, peace, education. The world in general has a long way to go, and I think people should keep that in mind and put more effort into bettering themselves and the world around them,” Brendan Tobin (12) said.
April 14, 2017
For as long as he can remember, Brendan Tobin (12) has been a creator. Regardless of the medium – carving, writing, graphic design – Brendan finds joy in building things with his hands.
“[Success is] being able to do what I want without restriction, so either being in a place where I’m financially stable enough to fund my own projects or associating myself with the right people,” he said. “Going back to middle and lower school, there was a lot of stuff I wanted to just that I wasn’t able to because it wasn’t offered then.”
Recently, during breaks and summer vacation, he has been working on writing a science fiction novel.
“One day, when I was driving to school, I just had this great idea of essentially what became the two main characters, and I thought ‘Hey, that would make a really great book,’ and then it just spiraled from there,” he said.
Brendan has always had an “unorthodox” way of thinking and his interests are widely varied. From biology to space exploration, he looks in every field for the opportunity to advance humanity.
“If there’s no place to go, I don’t think your looking hard enough. You can always make things better, be in in terms of technology, peace, education,” he said. “The world in general has a long way to go, and I think people should keep that in mind and put more effort into bettering themselves and the world around them.”
Brendan firmly believes that it is necessary to experience bad times to be able to fully acknowledge good ones.
“I was getting very discouraged by school, and there was just so much going on and little of it I was interested in, so I just got kind of bored and uninterested, very unmotivated, and I was talking to my mom and I was telling her, ‘there’s so many things I want to learn, but none of it’s going on in school.’ She was telling me, curiosity is one of the most important things about human life. It’s what drives people, and that’s stuck with me,” he said.
Brendan spends most of his free time at school in the “shed” area between Dobbins and Manzanita Hall. This has influenced who he spends his time with, and he appreciates that the somewhat isolated environment allows him to individually interact with his friends.
“I don’t make up fake identities or put up facades in front of people, but I show different groups different side of me. Some people I’m more serious with, others I’m more joking, or just there to have fun,” he said.
