![“[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)
5 underdogs of the Winter Olympics
March 8, 2018
The 2018 Winter Olympics took place from Feb. 8-25 in Pyeongchang, South Korea and included 91 participating nations. The following Olympic athletes were able to overcame physical or financial issues to find success in Pyeongchang.
1. Alina Zagitova
Alina Zagitova performs her free program at the 2018 European championships in figure skating in Moscow. She won the gold medal in the Ladies Single Skating Event in the 2018 Olympics.
Alina Zagitova, a 15 year old who represented the Olympic Athletes of Russia, is a 2018 Olympic champion, 2018 European champion, 2017–18 Grand Prix Final champion, and the 2018 Russian national champion. She was the gold winner in the Ladies Single Skating event and was a part of the silver winning team in the figure skating Team Event. With a score of 82.92, Zagitova broke the world record for the highest technical short program score earned. In the free skating event at the 2018 Olympics, she was the only competitor to perform all her 11 of her jumps in the second half of the program.
2. Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga
The Nigerian bobsled team, including Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga, became the first African athletes to compete in bobsleigh. However, the duo finished last in both their heats in the Two-Woman Bobsleigh event in Pyeongchang. The Nigerian team was started about two years ago by US-born Adigun, who first represented Nigeria in the 100m hurdles at the 2012 London Games. The team started a crowdfunding campaign and raised $75,000. With this money, Adigun built a wooden sled which the team could use to learn and train. Represented by three female athletes (two in bobsleigh and one in skeleton), Nigeria made its debut to the Winter Olympics.
3. Shaun White
Shaun White, an American snowboarder and skateboarder, is a 3-time Olympic gold medalist. He holds the record for the most number of first place medals in the X-Games and for the most number of Olympic gold medals by a snowboarder. White has won 10 ESPY Awards. Last October, while he was training for the Winter Olympics in New Zealand, White had a severe injury to his forehead and tongue as he tried to land a double cork 1440. Despite this, White won the gold medal in the Men’s Halfpipe event and also set the record for the highest score in the event. He received a 97.75 in his last run at the 2018 Olympics.
Chloe Kim of the United States finishes her warm-up round before the Women’s Halfpipe Final of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Kim won a gold medal in this event at the 2018 Olympics.
4. Chloe Kim
At the age of 17, American snowboarder Chloe Kim became the youngest woman to ever win an Olympic medal in any snowboarding event when she won gold in halfpipe in Pyeongchang. She is also a four-time X-Games gold medalist and became the first athlete in competition history to be three-time gold medalist before the age of 16. In 2016, Kim became the first American woman to win a gold medal in the snowboarding event at the Winter Youth Olympic Games. Kim was the first chosen snowboarder to be the flag bearer in either the Winter Olympic Games or the Youth Games. She was also nominated for the 2016 Espys for the Breakthrough Athlete Award.
5. Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins
Athletes Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins won the first gold-medal in cross-country skiing for the United States. The last time the US medaled in cross-country skiing was in 1976 when Bill Koch won the silver medal. They completed the race in 15 minutes and 56.47 seconds, only 0.19 seconds ahead of Sweden. Randall, 35 years old, is the only mother who competed as a part of Team USA in the Winter Olympics. She is a five-time Olympic athlete who is the first American athlete to have a top ten finish in a World Cup competition and to win a World Cup race discipline title. Diggins is a two-time Olympic athlete and won her first gold medal in this team event.
