![“[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)
Capitol Hill: What You Missed (Volume 19, Issue 6)
Jessica Dickinson Good- man ‘07 speaks at the February meeting. Goodman was sworn in as a member of the Human Services Commission, a voluntary advisory body for San Jose, in January. Her goals are to improve transit for women and children, increase disability access in San Jose and invite an ICE spokesperson to speak to the commission.
March 29, 2018
Jessica Dickinson Goodman ’07, in her new capacity as a San Jose Human Services Commissioner, is tackling the impact that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has on San Jose families.
Dickinson Goodman was sworn into the Human Services Commission (HSC), a voluntary advisory body for San Jose, in January with the goal of serving the Bay Area community and improving transit and disability access.
The HSC studies the status of human rights in San Jose, ensures their continual fulfillment and can make policy recommendations regarding human rights to the San Jose City Council.
Dickinson Goodman’s brother is on the autism spectrum and has learning disabilities, and he has inspired her to volunteer her time helping others.
“[I was inspired by] my brother being born [and] a lot of little moments of watching the world just not work for him and then noticing how the world just doesn’t work for women in a lot of ways, and it doesn’t work for people of color in the United States in a lot of cases, and it doesn’t work for migrant communities in lots of places,” Dickinson Goodman said. “It doesn’t work for minority communities even within countries that are theoretically equitable in other ways. I mean, we have work to do. It’s not a perfect world that any of us is born into, but we all have the opportunity to make it more fair and to make it more perfect.”
Following Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s warning of a large-scale ICE operation, over 230 arrests were made in an immigration enforcement sweep in the San Francisco Bay Area.
At the HSC’s February meeting, Dickinson Goodman led a discussion over whether the Commission should send an invitation to Gilroy ICE spokesperson James Schwab to attend and speak at an HSC meeting about ICE’s changes in protocol and enforcement in the Bay Area.
“They’ve [ICE] been making a lot of statements about going after sanctuary cities, specifically, and threatening San Jose in a pretty boldfaced way,” Dickinson Goodman said. “I’m up for having more discussion about it. My understanding is that city council and SJPD have been trying to interact with ICE, but they have not been particularly responsive, and to me that provides an additional benefit, if we’re able to when we’re developing our list of questions, to ask the questions that need answering.”
The HSC voted to draft the invitation letter, which Dickinson Goodman did, and will vote at their monthly meeting today on whether they should follow up with the letter and hand-deliver it to Schwab.
Apart from its ICE initiatives, the HSC aims to spread awareness about people with disabilities, explore how to impactfully mitigate stress in children, write bylaws and establish the best practices for the commission overall.
To get involved in public governance, San Jose commissions have seats open in various councils, ranging from housing and community development to arts and historic landmarks. Nine Youth Commission positions in Districts 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and CW are also available.
In addition to a discussion over the ICE representative invitation at their March meeting tonight, HSC will discuss police protocol on how to handle property from people who are homeless, review a Women’s Bill of Rights policy and vote to approve funding implementation.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on March 29, 2018.
