![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.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)
Behind the scenes: Harker’s annual Tree Lighting Ceremony
Varsity Girls Dance, compiled of students from all different grades, split into two groups and practiced for their Tree Lighting performance. They’ve been practicing for almost a month.
November 13, 2017
Eleven faces display wide smiles before the first beat of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” even hits. As soon as the song begins, the dancers fall into their splits and start pirouetting. Upper school dance teacher Karl Kuehn watches and critiques while videotaping their routine from the back of the room.
Junior Varsity Dance, Varsity Dance, Kinetic Crew and Downbeat are in the process of final preparations and rehearsals for the Tree Lighting Ceremony in Santana Row. What the audience sees is only a one part of the many arrangements that need to be made in order for this event to happen.
Junior Varsity (JV) Dance instructor and upper school dance teacher Rachelle Haun’s team started practicing for the upcoming event the second week of October. JV Dance will perform to a Pentatonix acapella version of the Disney classic, “Let it Go.”
From finding the outfits to organizing the performance pieces and props, costumes are a large part of the preparation process. Considering this event extends out of just the Harker community, performers at the Tree Lighting Ceremony are faced with an entirely different audience.
“My girls get to be up there on that stage and dance for a huge, huge audience,” Haun said. “It’s really good exposure for the dancers to be in front of a crowd and for them to see the other professional dancers that are there.”
Liana Wang (12), one of the varsity dance captains, has performed in the annual Tree Lighting since middle school.
Every year it’s a little bit different based on the crowd and who is performing, but it’s [always] that same energetic vibe,” Liana said.
Along with these girls dance teams, the all-boys group Kinetic Krew, is also performing at the event, with choreography mainly focused around breakdancing.
“After being in the dance program for many years, I feel the boys dance program has developed a lot in breakdancing this past year,” Kinetic Krew member Christopher Gong (11) said. “I believe this routine highlights that aspect more than any of my previous routines have.”
Consisting of four sopranos, four altos, four tenors and four basses, Downbeat members work on their songs both during their practices and at home for the tree lighting ceremony as well.
“The singers have to memorize everything outside of class,” Downbeat director Jennifer Sandusky said. “Then, we do the perfecting of the movements and music during class after they are memorized.”
These performances will take place during the pre-show entertainment, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. in the Santana Row outdoor shopping mall.
