![“[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)
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![“[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)
Spanish National Honor Society holds annual Spanish Olympiad
SNHS advisor Abel Olivas holds up a bingo card and bingo clues while explaining the rules of the game. Event attendees also participated in another activity where they attempted to identify the genres of a series of Spanish songs.
October 19, 2017
Members of the Spanish National Honor Society (SNHS) participated in the annual Spanish Olympiad in Nichols Atrium during lunch today.
The event included a few cultural activities, including a cultural bingo prepared by SNHS president David Wen (12) meant to refresh the students’ knowledge on Hispanic culture with the added incentive of prizes for the winners.
“It’s a relaxing activity where people get quizzed on their understanding of Spanish culture, and it’s really just a casual way to learn more about it and be more aware,” David said.
Students sat in small groups socializing in Spanish and eating their lunch. A “pastel de tres leches,” a traditional Mexican dessert, was also prepared for attendees to enjoy while participating in the event’s games and activities.
“This is a cultural bonding event where we do a couple of activities to promote the language and culture in the community and to get our group to celebrate culture internally as a club,” SNHS advisor Abel Olivas said.
After playing bingo, event attendees participated in another activity where they attempted to identify the genres of a series of Spanish songs.
The SNHS is an invitation-only group, where all members are chosen for and inducted into the organization based on their past performance in upper school Spanish classes. Members must have taken at least three semesters of Spanish as well as currently be taking an honors or AP level Spanish course with an A- grade or higher.
“I think it just clicked for me since the beginning, and it’s a great way to experience the culture,” first-year SHNS member Akhila Ramgiri (11) said. “I’m really excited to learn some things about Spanish culture in the SHNS.”
SNHS plans to hold future events, such as their annual Spanish Cultural Night later this school year in the spring, and is also currently planning a Spanish language online magazine for the Harker community.
