![“[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)
JCL members attend annual state convention
Courtesy of Harker JCL
Members of Harker’s JCL delegation cheer during the State Convention’s opening ceremonies. Eighteen upper school students and two middle school students attended the event.
April 24, 2017
Twenty members from the Upper School’s Junior Classical League (JCL) delegation attended the annual State Latin Convention held this year at St. Ignatius High School last Friday and Saturday.
Harker’s attending group included 18 upper school students and two middle school students attended the convention.
Students who attended included middle school students Arohee Bhoja (8) and George Wehner (8); freshmen Jai Bahri, Jeffrey Fung, Jack Hansen, Montek Kalsi, Kyle Li, Jin Tuan and Bryan Wang; sophomores Bobby Bloomquist, Timothy Chang, Nikhil Dharmaraj, Sara Min and Alexander Young; juniors Edgar Lin and Andrew Semenza and seniors Nikhil Manglik,Venkat Sankar, Arnav Tandon and Peter Wu.
“The JCL State Convention was a great success,” chaperone and Latin teacher Clifford Hull said. “Usually, it’s held in L.A. This year, it was held at St. Ignatius in San Francisco. The fact that it was held so close to our school meant that we didn’t have to travel all day as we have done in the past. The students had a really good time, and they dominated the convention.”
The Harker team won 16 first place awards, 19 second place awards and eight third place awards. First place winners included Arohee in Reading Comp III and Vocabulary, Bryan in Dramatic Interpretation (Boy), Nikhil Dharmaraj in Latin Oratory and English Oratory, Andrew in Reading Comp III and Venkat in Ancient Geography, Daily Life and Sight Latin Reading. Kyle tied first in Mythology and Edgar tied first in Derivatives. Both Certamen groups received second place, and Harker received first place in Overall—High School.
“This was [my] fourth year,” Edgar said. “The scheduling was pretty packed this year. They tried to get more and more stuff every year, and [the activities] were all pretty fun.”
The next club event for JCL members is the annual National JCL Convention, which will be hosted this year at Troy University in Alabama from July 24 to 29.
