![“[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)
TEDx speaker series hosts entrepreneurs, company representatives
Executive Director of Education at Anchor Distilling Co. and founder of beverage magazine Mutineer Magazine Alan Kropf addresses the importance of finding happiness in one’s career. Kropf was one of five featured speakers at today’s TEDx event.
November 4, 2017
Several entrepreneurs and businesses presented at the annual TEDx speaker series today in Nichols Auditorium.
The speakers featured at the event were Ray Wang, Ryan Evans, Julie Campistron, Alan Kropf and Andrew Semenza (12). Bay Area companies, which included Giacomo ONO 3D Printer, Serafim Keybo, Inboard, Sesame, Nomiku, Specdrums and Conduit Sports, set up booths around the atrium.
The speakers featured a wide array of topics, from Kropf describing his journey as a budding musician to the president of a prestigious beverage magazine to Andrew’s talk about evolutionary biology and overspecialization.
“I think [my favorite part] so far is getting to talk to all the presenters and getting one-on-one advice from all of them,” Emily Zhou (10) said.
Evans, the CEO of skateboard manufacturer Inboard Technologies and a Shark Tank entrepreneur of the electric skateboard M1, talked about shifts in production costs and prices for many types of vehicles, from cars to smaller portable devices.
“My younger sister was in a wheelchair and getting around the city—it’s terrible, it’s a horrible experience,” he said. “We started to realize with battery technology, reducing costs, motors improving with controllers and electronics, there’s opportunities to take things like electric wheelchairs that cost $25,000 and now you can [sell] it for $2000. Our big thing was answering the question of how to give mobility to everyone, and I think that was the big inspiration why.”
CEO of skateboard manufacturer Inboard Technologies and featured speaker Ryan Evans guides Christina Bettink (10) as she tries out his company’s M1 electric skateboard. “We started to realize with battery technology, reducing costs, motors improving with controllers and electronics, there’s opportunities to take things like electric wheelchairs that cost $25,000 and now you can [sell] it for $2000. Our big thing was answering the question of how to give mobility to everyone, and I think that was the big inspiration why,” Evans said during his speech.
Wang presented on disruptive technology and digital privacy, while Campistron detailed her path towards achieving mindfulness and peace.
“I lost my father to cancer when I was 21 and at the time of his death, I did what I knew best at the time; I put up my armor, I got real tough and I just plowed through. I just thought I’d be real strong and everything would be okay. Well, a year later, nothing was okay. The armor had cracked, the grief was still there and I fell into a depression.” Campistron said. “Thankfully, I was able to get help through therapy. That not only changed my life but also allowed me to reflect back on past experiences and understand how I could have handled them better with the help of mindfulness.”
After the speakers presented and audience members had an opportunity to check out the different booths, a mentor luncheon was held in the auxiliary gym. Multiple Bay Area professionals talked to interested individuals about business and entrepreneurship and shared stories about their own experiences working in Silicon Valley.
“We would like to remind you that in life, your best resource is yourself, and your second best resource is the people around you,” co-curator of the TEDxHarkerSchool team Anooshree Sengupta (12) said. “Engage the world, innovate, challenge social norms and make a difference.”
Tickets cost $20 per person and covered attendees’ lunch and swag bags. For more information on future events and the TEDx team, visit tedxharker.org.
