![“[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)
TV shows coming out this summer that you should watch
June 2, 2017
June – Orange is the New Black
The fifth season of Netflix’s original series Orange is the New Black will be released on June 9. The season will consist of 13 episodes. The show was already renewed for this season including its sixth and seventh seasons before season four had been released. Season four ended with a cliffhanger of an inmate holding a gun to a prison official’s head, while all the other inmates were cheering her on. This new season will pick up the story from that point.
July – Game of Thrones
HBO’s Game of Thrones returns for its seventh season on July 16. This season will consist of 7 episodes, which is a contrast to the other seasons that all consisted of ten episodes. The previous seasons were released during either the end of March or beginning of April. In the show, there is a kingdom named House Stark, whose motto is “Winter is coming.” The saying serves as a warning of an upcoming brutal winter. By the end of the seventh season, “Winter is here.” The seventh season will premiere later than usual, so that the ending coincides with the beginning of winter, to show that winter has arrived.
August – Saturday Night Live Weekend Update
NBC’s new comedy, Saturday Night Live Weekend Update, premieres on Aug. 10. This new show is a spin off of the long-running Saturday Night Live and will be hosted by Colin Jost and Michael Che. It will present the week’s events with a combination of comedy. Each of the four episodes to be aired will be half an hour long and will be released every Thursday. The air time will be during Saturday Night Live’s hiatus.
