![“[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)
Near-Mitra scholars visit Stanford Humanities Center
Courtesy of Donna Gilbert
Near-Mitra scholars Nirban Bhatia (12), Jacqueline He (12), Amy Jin (12), Serena Lu (12), Emily Chen (12), Andrew Semenza (12) and Derek Yen (12) pose for a photo outside the Stanford Humanities Center. These seven students met with Stanford’s Hume fellows over lunch today.
January 19, 2018
Seven seniors in the Near-Mitra program met with the Hume fellows at Stanford over lunch today.
The Near-Mitra scholars were absent from 10:30 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. during their trip to the Stanford campus. On the trip, the scholars toured the Stanford Humanities Center before meeting with the Hume Undergraduate fellows over lunch.
The Near-Mitra program is a program open to Harker seniors that gives its scholars the chance to conduct a yearlong research project on a humanities topic of their choice. English teacher Dr. Beth Wahl, who had been Associate Director at Stanford’s Humanities Center before coming to Harker a year ago, saw the similarities between the Near-Mitra program and the Hume Humanities Honors Fellowship, which selects eight Stanford seniors each year to conduct research. Dr. Wahl arranged this meeting between the two groups.
“It made sense to try to connect Harker’s Near-Mitra scholars to undergraduates doing humanities research and set up a conversation about research methods, the range of projects that fall under the humanities and the value of a humanities major,” Dr. Wahl said. “We think so much about STEM fields in Silicon Valley that I think it’s too easy to forget about the amazing scholarship taking place in humanities fields.”
Not all of the Near-Mitra scholars went on the trip, but those who did enjoyed the opportunity to learn firsthand about undergraduate humanities research.
“Each of us talked about our research in-depth, and I thought it was really great to hear feedback on our topics,” Near scholar Amy Jin (12) said. “For instance, I got pointed to additional books and resources and articles I could read to dig deeper into one aspect of my research.”
Near-Mitra scholars are currently writing first drafts of their papers, which will be due the first week of February.
