![“[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)
Humans of Harker: Megan Cardosi thinks small to achieve big
“In general, I’m really bad at planning really far into the future, because I always think about how much could change and how much will change,” Megan Cardosi (12) said. “I can’t really picture where I’m going to be in the future, so I just focus on what I can control for the next small part of my life. If you keep doing that, eventually you’ll look back and realize how far you’ve come.”
October 17, 2017
Megan Cardosi’s (12) presence at school is far from unnoticed. On the volleyball court, she anchors the team as an outside hitter. Behind those reflective journalism doors, Megan attends to three publications, coordinating and delegating sports and student life assignments for the staff in its entirety. Despite all this, at its core, Megan’s mantra is simple: think small.
“In general, I’m really bad at planning really far into the future, because I always think about how much could change and how much will change,” she said. “I can’t really picture where I’m going to be in the future, so I just focus on what I can control for the next small part of my life. If you keep doing that, eventually you’ll look back and realize how far you’ve come.”
With this perspective in mind, Megan tackles yearbook as just a series of miniature tasks, checking them off one by one until she’s completed her work diligently and effectively.
“It’s a great community and everything, and it’s taught me to get my life in check by keeping other things in perspective and keeping everything else organized,” she said. “When you’re working on a page, you basically start with just a blank template, and you’re like, ‘This is a lot.’ You start writing captions with the mindset that you have to write all these captions, but you just have to write one and then keep doing that. It made me reorganize my own life.”
As a member of TALON yearbook, Julia Amick (11) has witnessed Megan as an editor as well as friend. She values Megan as a comforting yet sensible presence in her life.
“I think she’s really mature,” Julia said. “Whenever I have a small issue with a friend or something or I feel like I’m not doing too well in a class, she’s always there for me and she talks me through it. She’s kind of like a mother figure… She helps me put things in perspective.”
Megan didn’t just stick to what she knew in high school. In the frenzy of junior year, Megan took economics for the first time and discovered a love for the subject.
“For the longest time I had no idea what I wanted to study, because everyone else seemed to really enjoy a class and I hadn’t found that yet,” Megan said. “There were classes where I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m okay with doing this,’ but there’s nothing I wanted to continue learning. I think AP Econ was the first time I actually enjoyed [a class] and I could see myself learning more about this in the future.”
As a whole, Megan values the details over the big picture.
“I think I’ve made a lot of important small decisions that I think I would be different if I hadn’t made them, choices like playing volleyball or joining yearbook or taking Econ or applying for an internship. I think those individual things together have put me down a certain path.”
