![“[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)
Annual NHS service fair to be held Friday during long lunch
Students spoke to representatives from organizations that provide service opportunities for high school students at last year’s fair. The service fair will take place tomorrow in front of Nichols Hall.
October 12, 2017
The National Honor Society (NHS) will hold its third annual service fair in Nichols Hall tomorrow, where students can visit booths representing various community service organizations to learn about community service opportunities on- and off-campus.
The fair will host 22 organizations, including on-campus, service-oriented clubs such as Key Club, Red Cross, Harker CTF and Harker Tutoring Club as well as individual community service organizations. Student members of these groups will represent their respective organizations at the fair.
“[The fair] started as an attempt by NHS to promote our pillar of service on campus by creating an opportunity for our students to get to know a lot of different service organizations in hopes that they’ll find one they really connect with,” NHS faculty advisor and biology teacher Mike Pistacchi said.
The organizations will present various opportunities for students, such as participating in clean-up events, tutoring students and donating food to the homeless, among others. Some organizations, such as the Academy of Music and Arts for Special Education (AMASE), are hoping to find volunteers with a specific skill set as well.
“We are pretty selective about the volunteers we want to be working with our students, especially since so many of them have different challenges with behavior,” AMASE volunteer Emily Chen (12), who will be promoting the organization at the fair, said. “But I do think that the service fair is a really great and well-organized way to reach out to students on campus who wouldn’t necessarily be involved in this kind of stuff in the first place.”
NHS held the first service fair in April of the 2015-2016 school year, but has since moved the date and expanded to include more organizations and allow students to vouch for their own off-campus organizations.
“Service fair is mainly for freshmen but also for upperclassmen to see what kinds of service opportunities are available outside of school,” NHS vice president Tanvi Singh (12) said.
The event will be held 10 days after the NHS’ induction ceremony on Oct. 3, during which 79 new members of the society were officially welcomed by current members and NHS leadership. Applicants were admitted based on essays, teacher recommendations, academic performance and extracurricular involvement.
Students can involve themselves in community service through NHS, signing up for community service trips organized by Director of Upper School Community Service and Student Activities Coordinator Kerry Enzensperger or participating in organizations advertised at the service fair.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on October 12, 2017.
