![“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)
History Club archives World War II era supplies
History Club advisor Roxana Pianko helps history club co-president Aryana Far (11) archive supplies from the trunk of World War II era supplies. The four trunks were brought to Pianko from Romania to the U.S. by a friend, who bought them at an auction.
March 8, 2018
History Club will be creating a Google Doc digital finding aid containing detailed information on a specific set of records for items contained within four trunks as part of their ongoing World War II era supplies archival work. The trunks belonged to two brothers who fought for the U.S. during World War II.
The club will also be attempting to find the closest living relatives of the brothers, so as to return the burial flags and assorted medals in the trunks.
Through this project, club members will learn about the job of archivists as well as the applications of archival studies.
“I think it’s interesting because usually, people don’t get to do this until they get to college,” History Club member Eva Chang (10) said. “For me personally, I really like looking at items that have a story behind them that you might not see when you first look at them. It’s especially relevant to me because we’re learning about World War II [in history class], and that is the time where the trunks are from, so I think [the project will] help us understand the period better and add on to what we learned in class.”
History Club co-president Aryana Far (11) considers different documents and photos in front of her. History Club advisor Roxana Pianko brought the trunks to Harker after obtaining them from a friend in Romania, who bought the four capsules at an auction.
History Club advisor Roxana Pianko obtained the trunks from a friend in Romania, her home country, who, roughly a decade ago, bought the four trunks at an auction.
“[My friend] knows that I like history. For the past two or three years, anytime I saw her, we would just end up talking about this collection,” Pianko said. “Last year, I mentioned the history club, and she said, ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be awesome if we could make some sense of these four trunks,’ and I said, ‘Actually, that would be really awesome.’ I have a degree in archival studies, and I haven’t had the chance to do something like this for years, so it’s really exciting.”
History Club plans to visit the Harker archives to learn about finding aids. The students will then break up into groups, with each group responsible for a specific component of three of the trunks. Pianko is leaving the fourth as a surprise for when the club is done.
“It’s an opportunity that not many high school students get,” History Club co-president Aryana Far (11) said. “There are Purple Hearts, burial flags and really amazing photographs in the trunks, and the fact that we have access to this incredible set of old artifacts is mind-blowing to me. We’re going to learn a lot about history that may not be in the textbooks. It’s going to be really fun, and I’m very humbled to be able to experience this.”
The project is expected to carry on into the 2018-2019 school year. Since no members of the club will be graduating this year, all will be able to see this project through to completion.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on March 6, 2018.
