![“[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: Varun Baldwa helps others through volunteering
“I am an extreme person, and I like to be in the right or left side of the spectrum. For the right side I like to be in complete solitude. It’s where I feel one with myself, as if I’m the only entity there. For the left side, I like to be in an industrial and urban setting, like in the middle of NYC. It’s not that you are meaningless, but that you are a part of the crowd of people,” Varun Baldwa (12) said.
May 8, 2017
For Varun Baldwa (12), helping other people around him has been his focus and passion, and he tries to volunteer as much as possible to assist others.
“I started a nonprofit called Kidz Kode to teach underprivileged kids the basics of programming,” Varun said. “This was a good mix of my passion for programming and also my desire to help those around me.”
Varun says that he finds happiness within himself, but through avenues such as volunteering, he also finds happiness within making other people happy.
“The happiness of others makes me happy,” Varun said. “That’s not to say that I can’t be happy on my own, but a lot of times, seeing those I care about in a good state makes me improve my own.”
Helping other people has a lasting effect on Varun, as he has been able to see new perspectives and find differences between theirs and his.
“It’s not that I’m only helpful when it’s to help other people,” he said. “Through helping others, I’ve learned to be a lot more open-minded and just mindful of what people around me are thinking.”
Apart from volunteering, Varun tries to pick up as many hobbies as possible and grow out of his shell to find new opportunities.
“Obviously, if I’m empty-handed, I have nothing to do, which only leads me to do new things,” Varun said. “Other than that, I like taking photos and listening to music as a means of linking my expression with art forms. I think it helps me get a better sense of self, and it’s also a fun process to go through.”
Varun also focuses on trying new activities that he has always thought about but has never done and getting to know more people during his last year on campus.
“I’m at the same place with so many kids, and I haven’t talked to so many of them in my life,” Varun said.” I made a little bucket list with my friends and one of our goals is to sit at a new lunch table every day of second semester, so we’re definitely gonna make an effort to leave an impact on the campus and to get to know the people around us.”
