![“[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)
Upper school debaters head to Texas for first tournament of school year
Courtesy of Jenny Achten
Cindy Wang (11), Clarissa Wang (11), Jacob Ohana (12), Alan Hughes (12), Kelly Shen (11), Megan Huynh (12) and Anusha Kuppahally (11) pose for a photo at the Grapevine tournament. Team Cindy and Clarissa advanced to the octofinals in public forum and team Megan and Anusha advanced to the octofinals in policy debate.
September 11, 2017
Seven upper school debaters traveled to Grapevine, Texas to attend the Grapevine Classic Speech and Debate Tournament from Sept. 7 to 10.
Public forum team Cindy Wang (11) and Clarissa Wang (11), Lincoln-Douglas debater Kelly Shen (11) and the policy debate teams of Alan Hughes (12) and Jacob Ohana (12) and of Megan Huynh (12) and Anusha Kuppahally (11) represented Harker at the event. Cindy and Clarissa advanced to the octofinals in public forum, and Megan and Anusha advanced to the octofinals in policy debate.
“For a return to the season, that was a pretty good showing, and it gives us a sense of what direction we need to work in for the rest of the season,” Cindy said. “I think the flow of the judges for this tournament was really specific; there were no parents, but in general for our event we would like to appeal to more of the general public and not just debaters or people who know the common jargon for debate.”
The Grapevine tournament marked the first debate tournament for the upper school’s speech and debate team for this school year and invited students from over 90 schools in 12 states. Lincoln-Douglas, public forum and policy debaters all participated in five preliminary rounds before elimination rounds began on Sunday, while Congressional debate finals began on Saturday.
Grapevine is a qualifying tournament for the annual Tournament of Champions (TOC) held at the University of Kentucky in April; debaters who advanced to the quarterfinals in Lincoln-Douglas, public forum and policy and the top six qualifiers for Congressional debate all earned one bid to the TOC.
“I was really excited that we had winning records in all three debate events. Although I’m sure the students would have been happy to have advanced one more round, I think it was a solid start in a very tough tournament,” debate coach and trip chaperone Jenny Achten said.
Prior to the Grapevine tournament, the speech and debate team held their annual parent information meeting in Nichols Auditorium last Wednesday. The speech and debate team’s next tournament will be held at St. Francis High School this weekend.
