![“[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)
Freshmen attend first LIFE assembly
Academic Dean Evan Barth welcomes the Class of 2021 to their first LIFE assembly. The juniors also attended a LIFE assembly, while the seniors and sophomores held their first Eagle Buddies session of the year.
October 4, 2017
The freshman class attended a LIFE assembly hosted by Academic Dean Evan Barth about course planning from 11:10 a.m. to 12 p.m. today in Nichols Atrium.
Barth worked with the freshmen on their four-year high school plans and introduced the various courses and electives offered at the school. He then encouraged them to think carefully about their schedules, explaining that if students start planning earlier in high school, they will have more time to consider what type of educational path they want to take with their classes.
“Let’s take control of what we’re doing. I call it ‘being put in the driver’s seat,’” he said.
During the assembly, Barth first told the students to reflect on the most interesting thing they learned over the past week and on what they wanted to explore in high school. He also emphasized that students should plan their courses based on what they, and not others, wanted.
The freshmen brought their laptops and pencils to the meeting to start their plans and had time at the end of the meeting to construct a course plan on their laptops with Four Year Planner, the online course planner tool recommended by Barth.
Many freshmen felt that the assembly was helpful in planning for the next four years.
“This assembly was pretty helpful because it got us to understand the many different choices of courses we can have, and we got advice from Mr. Barth,” Shray Alag (9) said.
Many freshmen advisors felt that the assembly was critical to students’ preparation for future.
“I think it’s extremely helpful because there’s a lot of misunderstanding about the classes a student should take,” Josh Martinez, media art teacher and freshman advisor, said. “Mr. Barth particularly does a good job of saying that it’s possible to do too much. If you take all the classes, you miss the important part of having a creative educational life.”
Students can continue to plan their schedules at https://planner.harker.org.
