![“[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)
Journalism students hold press conference with Hurricane Harvey reporter
Mahika Halepete
Journalism reporters and journalism adviser Ellen Austin listen as Hurricane Harvey reporter Wes Rapaport, on speaker, talks during an audio press conference. The press conference took place during second period today.
August 30, 2017
A Texas reporter covering Hurricane Harvey participated in a live phone press conference with Harker journalism students today.
Period 2 journalism was in for a treat when, a mere 25 minutes before the call was to start, Harker journalism adviser Ellen Austin announced that the entire class would participate in an interview Wes Rapaport, a Capitol Correspondent at Nexstar Austin Bureau. A native of northern California, Rapaport was also advised by Austin as a high school journalist at Palo Alto High School and graduated from Chapman University with a B.F.A. in Television and Broadcast Journalism in 2015.
First-year journalists, who were only hours into their journalism training, were thrown right into the action as they scribbled down their notes on the interview. Meanwhile, returning journalism members conducted live research to plan out questions. Aquila editor-in-chief Meena Gudapati facilitated the interview with Rapaport.
Journalists take notes as reporter Wes Rapaport describes the situation in Houston. The press conference took place during second period today.
Rapaport had been in southeastern Texas since last Friday reporting on the hurricane’s effects. He traveled to Corpus Christi for President Trump’s visit to the city on Tuesday and was in Rockport at the time of today’s conference.
“We saw cars everywhere, boats upside down, houses with their roofs ripped off, walls where there shouldn’t be walls. But what we didn’t see was people who’d given up,” Rapaport said of his view of the storm’s impact.
After arriving on the scene last Friday, he almost immediately had a news story up following his observance of price-gouging in the aftermath of the devastating hurricane. After Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton became involved, 40 people received reimbursement for the overcharging of nearly triple the advertised room rate.
“I do this to make a difference. We were able to get people their money back,” Rapaport said during the interview.
Through the live interview with Rapaport, students were not only able to learn about a rising news story, but also to hear from an individual who had made a career out of broadcast journalism.
“This has definitely been a learning experience for me as an EIC and for all of our cubs, who are new to journalism,” Meena said to conclude the interview.
