![“[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)
On November 28, Students for Charitable Causes (SFCC) Club and Red Cross Club announced that freshmen won first place in the competition to donate the most amount to the food and toiletries drive.
“[The drive] went pretty well this year, especially since this is the first year [our club] has been doing it,” said Glenn Reddy (9), co-president of the SFCC Club.
It was also the first time the Red Cross Club organized a toiletries drive for the military, according to club president Preeya Mehta (11), although Diana Moss, Dean of the Freshman class, has been leading similar drives at the school for several years.
Moss was pleased with her class’s victory, yet she expressed hopes of seeing greater participation in the future.
“In years past we had so much food […] collected that we actually almost filled up half the field, and this year it felt like the drive overall just didn’t have the same kind of energy that it’s had in the past,” she said. “I’m glad we won, but I’d love to see more of a response from the whole student body.”
Similarly, Preeya wished that more students, especially juniors and seniors, had taken part in the drive.
“We definitely thought we would see a lot more [involvement] coming forth from the juniors and seniors classes, […] but the amount of output that came out [from all four classes] was enough to make [the drive] definitely worth it,” she said.
Madhuri Rao (12) said not as many seniors participated because the drives were not publicized enough.
“I brought in food and toiletries, but I think that at our class meetings, nobody really announced anything about it, so we were a little bit less aware about the drives,” she said.
From November 13 to 28, freshmen contributed a total of 307 pounds of food, while sophomores came in second with 281 pounds. The junior class donated 138 pounds, and the seniors came in last with 118 pounds. Cumulatively, the school collected 844 pounds of food.
For the toiletries drive, freshmen and sophomores together contributed 156 items, while juniors and seniors gathered 77 items.
Due to the overall success of the drive, both Glenn and Preeya hope to hold similar events during next year’s Thanksgiving season.
