![“[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)
Academic Decathlon holds club week
Academic Decathlon Kahoot participants review their answers to the question “What is Nkanda?” Members of the club also sold boba tea outside Manzanita for 6 dollars each today.
October 20, 2017
Academic Decathlon hosted a mini Kahoot scrimmage for both members and non-members yesterday and sold boba tea outside of Manzanita during lunch today for their club week.
As the theme for this year’s Academic Decathlon competitions is Africa, the Kahoot included questions focused mainly on African geography, literature and art, but featured science and math questions as well. Students who won the competition were awarded with free boba today.
“I really hope that we can get a full team to compete in February and hopefully get some awards, but also just to have a good experience in general and teach people along the way,” club member Nellie Tonev (10) said.
Praveen Batra (12) stands up to explain his answer as Arusha Patil (9), Alexander Young (11), Swapnil Garg (12) and Ashwin Rammohan (11) look on. “I’m hoping for excitement for the extracurricular learning that’s happening here, so I think that’s just the thing that we are hoping the Harker community will get excited about and support,” English teacher and Academic Decathlon adviser Michelle Andelman said.
Academic Decathlon, which was founded a year ago by Enya Lu (11), will be participating in a regional competition this winter. One part will be completed online and the other will be held in person, and the levels of difficulty that students compete at in both events are based off of their current GPA.
“I’m hoping for excitement for the extracurricular learning that’s happening here, so I think that’s just the thing that we are hoping the Harker community will get excited about and support,” English teacher and Academic Decathlon adviser Michelle Andelman said.
The club is currently preparing and practicing for their two-part competition coming up in December and February.
