![“[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)
Spirit and DECA host dodgeball finals
Neil Ramaswamy (11) throws the ball during the juniors’ match against the freshman class. The juniors won the game against the freshmen, while the seniors won their game against the sophomores.
November 16, 2017
Members of the senior and junior classes will compete in the first upper school dodgeball finals in three years tomorrow in the athletics center during long lunch.
The seniors and juniors beat the sophomores and the freshmen, respectively, during the first round of dodgeball games on Nov. 9 in the athletics center.
“[In my freshman year], I have memories of getting destroyed by the seniors in the first round, so it’s kind of nice to be the seniors this time and destroy the underclassmen,” Amitej Mehta (12) said.
Dodgeball was discontinued as a spirit event three years ago after the senior class of 2015 staged a sit-in after losing a game to the juniors, citing alleged cheating by the then-junior class of 2016 as their reason.
The administration decided to reinstate the games this year.
“We felt like the students here have done a great job of being spirited and having good sportsmanship so we felt like they deserved to have a spirit event come back,” Assistant Activities Director Eric Kallbrier said.
Dodgeball has been a Harker tradition for a long time and is always extremely popular among students, according to Kallbrier.
“This is a lot of fun for people; I think it reminds them of elementary school, [of] playing games like doctor-doctor or dodgeball in elementary school,” Kallbrier said. “It’s just a fun way to engage with your class.”
Ramanan Vegesna (10) throws a ball against the seniors. The dodgeball finals between the seniors and juniors will be held tomorrow during long lunch in the athletics center.
DECA and Harker Spirit partnered up to organize the event, with DECA members selling boba tea outside Manzanita during lunch to raise awareness for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
“I wanted to help support my class spirit,” Rishi Dange (10), who played on the sophomore team, said. “[MDS is] something a lot of people should know about, and I feel like it was a great thing to go out there and play for that. It was really fun because all the classes were out there, [with] so many people watching. I felt like it united the school as a whole.”
This piece was published in the pages of the Winged Post on November 16, 2017.
