![“[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)
Student Spotlight: Students audition for 2018’s Hoscars show
Sophomores Kaidi Dai and Sara Lynn Sullivan exude energy at a rehearsal for the Korean pop, or K-pop, dance routine.
March 8, 2018
The curtains open, revealing a group of dancers posed in their beginning positions. The audience eagerly stares at the silhouettes of the dancers, while the bright lights being casted from above reflect against their excited expressions. An upbeat Kpop song starts playing in the background, and they begin dancing to the beat of the intense piano keys as they seamlessly flow through their movements.
The upper school will be hosting the annual talent show, Hoscars, on Mar. 23, featuring acts ranging from comedy to dancing. Unlike previous years, this year’s show will take place in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center’s Patil Theater. As a result, Hoscars will consist of two shows because of the limited capacity.
“It’s going to be underclassmen and upperclassmen so there will be a whole lot of logistical challenges,” ASB secretary Katherine Zhang (11) said. “Each assemblies going to be an hour so that’s probably going to be the biggest change.
In preparation for the show, student council has invited students across all grades to audition through the week of Feb. 23. Out of the 50 students and faculty acts that auditioned, only 15 will be selected to perform in the show.
Junior Christopher (Chris) Gong demonstrates an illusionary magic trick involving cards. Chris also auditioned for the Hoscars talent show as part of a dance act.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing all the auditions as of right now and definitely seeing the whole show coming together,” Katherine said. “It’s probably one of the biggest things that we do so I’m really excited for the underclassmen to see it, and the upperclassmen also are really excited to see it come back again because they already know how much fun Hoscars can be.”
Gloria Guo (12) and Grace Koonmen (12), plan to do a K-pop dance routine hope with a group of friends. In preparation for their audition, they have been rehearsing every long lunch to ensure a spot in the show. Additionally, they hope to continue the tradition of dancing in Hoscars.
Senior Gloria Guo practices the K-pop routine with the members of her dance group.
“Grace and I were in the hip hop act that was in the show two years ago for also Hoscars, so I think it’s exciting for the two us to coordinate our own one this time and to lead of bunch of people who want to do it and just to perform it onstage and have fun,” Gloria said. “We did it our sophomore year and we had so much fun, and last year we didn’t do it because of all the issues with the spacing. This year we really wanted to do it,” Grace said.
The group looks forward to being able to dance in the Patil Theater. They think that new performing arts center will be one of the highlights of their experience.
“Honestly I think honestly the final performance is just gonna be really fun when we will be able to do the whole thing onstage together, especially since we’ll be in the new theater which will be so cool,” Gloria said.
Alex Chen (12), who is auditioning with a vocal cover of Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin Bout You,” hopes utilize this opportunity to show his peers what he does outside of his schoolwork.
“I am planning on doing a vocal cover for Hoscars. I’m very, very excited for it,” Alex said. “I think that it’s just that it’s a really fun opportunity. You kind of get reveal aspects of yourself that maybe some people that haven’t been exposed to.”
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on March 6, 2018.
