![“[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)
Three Harker speakers finish strong at NIETOC 2017
Courtesy of Nikhil Dharmaraj (10)
Nikki Solanki (9), Nikhil Dharmaraj (10) and Avi Gulati (9) pose with Harker speech coach Marjorie Hazeltine in front of a sign at NIETOC. Nikki competed in Dramatic Interpretation, while Nikhil and Avi both competed in Original Oratory.
May 15, 2017
Three students from Harker’s speech and debate team competed at the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions (NIETOC) last weekend in Kansas City, Missouri.
Original Oratory entrant Nikhil Dharmaraj (10) placed fifth out of a pool of 142 competitors. Speakers Avi Gulati (9) and Nikki Solanki (9) also participated in the events Original Oratory and Dramatic Interpretation, respectively.
“The tournament was so different than any other. There was this vibe of just having fun—there was ‘pump-up’ music, smoke effects, puppies and musical numbers. It was seriously a party tournament, and I really think that that energy helped me succeed as a speaker,” Nikhil said.
The NIETOC was one of the last tournaments of this year’s competition season. While Avi and Nikhil will attend the National Speech and Debate Association’s National Tournament in June, Nikki plans on working on preparing for competitions in August over the summer.
“Over these next few weeks, I’m going to finish up pieces for next year so we can start the year with a bang. Over the summer, I plan to memorize, but other than that, I think I’m going to take it easy,” Nikki said. “We’ve had a really intense competition year, and we will continue to have those in years to come, so I think this is a well needed break. Overall, my main goal is just to be prepared for next year.”
NIETOC traditionally only invites students who have acquired at least two tournament “bids,” earned from clearing elimination rounds at other national speech and debate tournaments in the same competition year. At last year’s NIETOC, Nikhil placed fourth in Original Oratory. Competitors Divya Rajasekharan (12) and Sana Aladin (12) also attended the tournament as a Duo Interpretation team.
The final event for the speech and debate team in the 2016-2017 school year is the National Speech and Debate Association’s National Tournament, which will be held this year from June 18 to 23 in Birmingham, Alabama.
