![“[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)
Sophomores succeed at national TEAMS competition in Orlando
Sophomores Vani Mohindra, Sachin Shah, Cynthia Chen, Allison Jia, Jacqueline “Jackie” Yang, Emily Liu and Eileen Li pose with their trophy.
September 7, 2017
A team of Harker sophomores won several awards in the national TEAMS competition this June in Orlando, Florida.
TEAMS, which stands for Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science, is a national competition for middle and high schoolers consisting of three main components: Written Essay, Prepared Presentation, and Problem Solving. This year, the teams focused on the theme, “Engineering the Environment.” 50 teams competed against Harker in the freshman/sophomore division, with the national competition drawing more than 1,200 people.
The Harker team, composed of captain Jackie Yang (10), Allison Jia (10), Cynthia Chen (10), Eileen Li (10), Emily Liu (10), Sachin Shah (10), Vani Mohindra (10) and Kyle Li (10), who only participated in the state competition, placed second in California. Only 0.6 points away from first place, the team qualified for the national round.
“The problem solving part at nationals is an engineering part and a math part, and obviously Harker has a bunch of great math students,” team captain Jackie Yang (10) said. “Actually, for the problem solving part we did a lot of practice engineering things during the school year.”
At nationals, the Harker team placed first in Problem Solving, fourth in the Best in Nation overall, and eighth in Prepared Presentation.
“I think it was a bit of luck,” Cynthia Chen (10), a member of the team, said, “but we also were pretty prepared. We did practice multiple choice from previous years and we also did sample engineering challenges.”
Teams wrote in-depth essays based on research conducted on the topic released, and presented it. At nationals, the teams were allotted 90 minutes to complete 25 college level math questions and to construct the most efficient air debris filter possible using designated materials. Each team was given space to work on, and both the math questions and the design challenge were done simultaneously. Team members split up tasks in order to finish both parts of the contest in the time allotted.
Teams qualified for the national competition through a state-level competition. This year, several Harker teams competed in a regional competition was held at the Harker upper school on Feb. 25. High-scoring teams from across the state then had the option to compete in the national competition.
The regional competition consisted of an 80-question multiple choice round, a pre-written essay and a design challenge. During the challenge, contestants had to design a robotic arm that could pick up a water bottle from a distance.
The 2018 state-level TEAMS competition will take place between Feb. 12 and Mar. 18, and will explore topics such as light pollution, solar power, and global health. The national competition will also be held next June.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on September 6, 2017.
