![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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)
Boys water polo loses to Gunn High School
Timmy Chang (11) practices shooting goals during the Eagles’ warm up against Gunn. This game was their first of the second half of the season.
September 30, 2017
The varsity boys’ water polo team lost their game against Gunn 7-13 on Thursday night, moving them to a 2-6 league record and a 5-9 overall record. JV also lost to Gunn 3-11 earlier that night.
The first quarter started with one of Harker’s captains, Aadith Srinivasan (12), scoring the first goal of the game. Gunn responded with five consecutive goals from three different players. Alex Wang (12), Harker’s other captain, ended the first quarter with a buzzer-beater goal in the last seconds.
Gunn started the second quarter strong with another four consecutive goals. Harker then managed to score once again in the last seconds of the quarter as Bobby Bloomquist (11) scored while a Gunn player was ejected.
Gunn played the third quarter with focus and energy that converted into scoring four goals and shutting down Harker’s offense.
Harker played the fourth quarter with newfound determination, allowing them to stop Gunn from scoring any more goals. Matthew Hajjar (11), Arindam Ghosh (12), Aadith and Arjun Akkiraju (10) each scored one goal in that quarter, closing the game to the 7-13 final score.
“I think there were some good areas and some bad areas,” Arindam said. “We moved the ball around pretty well and we could get some movement. Obviously, we have stuff to improve but this is Gunn. We’re just adjusting because [this is a higher league], and they were league champions last year. We’ve gotten better since the last time we played them.”
Coach Victor Adler is optimistic about the team’s performance in future games and looks forward to the second half of league.
“I think it will be similar to the first half of the season,” he said. “This game was the start of the second half of the season. We’re looking at Lynbrook, Homestead and Los Gatos as good games for us. We’re competitive and want to win some games we lost in the first round.”
The team’s next game is away against Lynbrook High School on Tuesday, Oct 3., at 4 p.m.
