![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.jpg)
![“[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)
Freshmen, sophomores, seniors participate in LIFE assemblies
Seniors listen as Harker alum Sheridan Tobin (’15) speaks about her college experience. The seniors gathered in Nichols Auditorium for their LIFE assembly, while the sophomores were in the auxiliary gym and the freshmen in Nichols Atrium.
November 7, 2017
Freshmen discuss digital citizenship
The freshman class gathered for a LIFE assembly to discuss digital citizenship with Learning, Innovation and Design Director Diane Main today in Nichols Atrium.
Main introduced discussion topics including the teenage brain, proper sleep, screen time, cyberbullying and both digital and offline citizenship. Main gives this speech to each year’s freshman class to introduce them to the upper school’s expectations.
“One of the things we aim to do as ninth graders join our upper school community is that we want to make sure that we establish some community norms,” Main said. “It’s sort of a way of helping ninth graders as they enter the community to kind of understand what they expect.”
Even if they had previously learned about digital citizenship, students were reintroduced to the topic and the repercussions of not being careful online.
“Although most of the information conveyed to us in this speech was prior knowledge, it was important to be reminded of the things that she said, like being aware of what you post on social media and making sure that you get a full eight to nine hours of sleep,” Lisa Barooah (9) said.
Sophomores review course planning
Sophomores met with Academic Dean Evan Barth for a LIFE meeting on course planning today in the auxiliary gym.
While the main subject was course planning for junior year, Barth also talked about the increased workload in the coming years of high school, PSAT scores and summer opportunities. At the beginning of the assembly, students were given a silent reflection time to first settle into the meeting.
Barth mainly encouraged students to focus on what they want to do rather than what they are capable of doing, emphasizing how this mindset should extend from course selection and balancing out work during the school year to deciding on summer activities.
“If you can focus on the here and now and making sure you’re happy, you’ve got that good challenge, you’re pushing where you want it, [colleges] will work out,” Barth said.
Barth also reminded the sophomores to create College Board accounts early to facilitate the process of receiving their PSAT scores in December but also noted that sophomore year scores are simply a data point to track personal growth and will not be sent out to colleges and universities.
For summers in between school years, Barth advised students to participate in programs suiting their own interests rather than follow a formula of internships or research.
At the end of the assembly, students met up in advisory groups to discuss the silent reflection responses they wrote down during the beginning of the session.
Students’ finalized plans for their course selections for the upcoming school year are due mid-January.
Seniors video chat with Harker alumni
