![“[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)
March madness captivates school
Head of Upper School Butch Keller’s bracket is displayed at the entrance of Manzanita. Many students and faculty members made brackets to try to predict the outcome of the NCAA March Madness Tournament.
March 28, 2017
March Madness dates back to 1908 in Illinois. What started as a small yearly high school boys basketball competition transformed into a statewide tournament with more than 900 schools participating in less than 20 years.
Although most of the hype in Illinois was originally focused around high school competitions, over time college basketball became more popular. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men’s Basketball National Championship, held in 1937, was the first college basketball tournament in the U.S.
The NCAA first organized a college basketball tournament in 1939 and has been regulating the competition, which was later named March Madness, ever since.
March Madness is a tournament of in which each team is eliminated after one loss. The competition was originally organized between only 8 teams, but over time expanded into a national 64-team format.
Today, March Madness is an annual single-elimination tournament between 64 college men’s basketball teams from around the country. There are 4 divisions based on geographical location, each consisting of 16 teams. Games started on March 14 and end next Monday.
Many basketball fans today make tournament bracket predictions. In the past, Facebook has given $25,000 prizes to anyone who predicted the brackets correctly. This year, Warren Buffett announced that he would award any Berkshire Hathaway employee who could predict the Sweet 16 correctly 1 million dollars per year for life.
Varsity girls basketball team captain Jordan Thompson (12) predicts team brackets with her sister, Courtney Thompson (8), every year.
“We always pick underdogs to win the championship. Even though they never actually advance that far in the tournament, it’s fun to root for a team that nobody else expects to win,” Jordan said. “March Madness is unique because there are so many upsets, so it’s nearly impossible to make a perfect bracket.”
The first NCAA women’s college basketball tournament took place in 1982. It consisted of 32 college teams from all over the country. The tournament expanded to include 64 women’s teams in 1994.
Some teachers in schools across the country encourage students to create prediction brackets and sometimes award extra credit to students who make the most accurate prediction bracket.
“We have an APUSH March Madness NCAA tournament bracket,” AP U.S. History teacher Julie Wheeler said. “We are celebrating basketball, which was an American sport. It’s a good way to expose the Harker community to a wide variety of schools, colleges and universities that they might not know about. It’s good for geography, and it’s good for a little classroom competition.”
Many upper school students are interested in March Madness because they enjoy supporting specific teams.
“Personally, I like the Villanova Wildcats. They won last year,” Mihir Dixit (9) said. “Usually, I watch the Final Four [and finals] with a few of my friends.”
The Illinois High School Association sponsors March Madness and donates a portion of its proceeds to scholarships for Illinois high school students.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on March 28, 2017.
