![“[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)
Harker to host annual family picnic
The JV dance team performs a routine at a previous year’s picnic. This year’s picnic is themed Harker Hoedown.
October 12, 2017
The annual Harker Family & Alumni Picnic, themed Harker Hoedown, will be held at the Blackford campus on Oct. 15. The middle school campus will be set up for a day of activities, games and entertainment for event attendees.
The first picnic took place in 1951 at the Palo Alto Military Academy before it merged with the Harker Day School to become the Harker Academy. Through the years, the Harker picnic has become an important tradition.
This year, the event organizers have announced a picnic pre-raffle and have sold tickets at welcome breakfasts, Back-to-School night, Homecoming and school orientations. A few of the drawings for the raffle took place during the Homecoming game.
An online silent auction has also been set up, and bidding ends on the day of the picnic at 3 p.m.
Performances by the upper school jazz band, as well as the middle and lower school jazz bands, will take place that morning. Downbeat, as well as Kinetic Krew and the JV dance team, will also be performing.
“I’m really excited for the picnic because this year, Downbeat is doing a really tiring song, but it’s super exciting and it’s always a lot of fun to see all the other performing arts groups on campus,” Downbeat member Kelsey Wu (11) said.
Both the JV team and Kinetic Krew will be performing hip-hop routines with themes pertaining to outlaws and bandits to match the hoedown theme of the picnic.
The Harker Gala, the next major fundraising event for Harker, will be held in late spring.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on October 12, 2017.
