![Setter Emma Lee (9) sets the ball to the middle during the match against Pinewood on Sept. 12. “[I’m looking forward to] getting more skilled, learning more about my position and also becoming better friends with all of my teammates, Emma said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DSC_4917-2-1200x795.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasnt been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but Ive had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. Theres so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesnt exist, you can build it yourself, Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasnt making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable, Carter Chadwick (22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
![“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 its played such a major role in who Ive 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 Im [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)
![“[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)
![“Im 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 theres a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyones 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)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you arent going to get those championships if you arent 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)
![“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)
Humans of Harker: Krishna Bheda draws inspiration from role models
“A lot of who I am comes from my sister, because she’s always taught me to be very outgoing and adventurous,” Krishna Bheda (12) said. “When I was little, if I was too scared to ask the waiter for something, she’d be like ‘Krish, go do it. You can do it. Go ask,’ and if we were at weddings she would make me dance and make me have fun, and I think that’s a huge part of who I am. I would say I’m pretty fearless and a lot of that comes from her. And especially my love for music also comes from her because she used to be a singer, and I always looked up to her and wanted to be who she was.”
June 6, 2018
Krishna Bheda (12) has many role models. Arguably the person who most influenced her value system is her mother. For her personality, it’s her sister. For her love of music, her sister and Cantilena conductor and vocal music teacher Susan Nace.
“I definitely got my values from my mom. My mom has always taught me to be humble, to have real integrity and to be very loyal,” Krishna said. “I really value loyalty. I have a loyalty to my family, and I have a loyalty to my friends, and I have a loyalty to my teammates, and I think that and trust are really important to me.”
Krishna’s sister, Debanshi Bheda (‘07), has shaped some of Krishna’s core personality traits.
“She’s always taught me to be very outgoing and adventurous,” Krishna said. “When I was little, if I was too scared to ask the waiter for something, she’d be like ‘Krish, go do it. You can do it. Go ask,’ and if we were at weddings she would make me dance and make me have fun, and I think that’s a huge part of who I am. I would say I’m pretty fearless, and a lot of that comes from her.”
Krishna also drew inspiration from her sister’s love of singing, having begun herself as a child.
“When people would come over, I would be very annoying and I would play the Cinderella part to them and just dance around my living room,” she said. “In fifth grade, Ms. Sandusky gave me a solo in the fifth grade show, and that’s when my parents were like, ‘oh, this girl can sing’, so they got me started with voice lessons, and it kind of took off from there.”
In middle school, Krishna started taking voice lessons with vocal music teacher Susan Nace, who is now Krishna’s conductor in Cantilena.
“The reason I love Cantilena so much is because [Nace] gives us such respect and really allows to help make some decisions that pertain to our choir, and the girls are all sisters basically,” Krishna said. “I don’t think you could get that kind of atmosphere with any other teacher because she cares so much and she’s just an amazing lady. She’s strong and strong-willed yet very kind, and I think that’s someone who I aspire to be like.”
Krishna also lives out the Golden Rule: “treat others the way you would want to be treated.”
Namely, she incorporates the kindness, lessons and values she’s gained from her role models into her friendships, leading her friends to nickname her “Mama Krishna.”
“She’s such a motherly figure towards the rest of us, she watches out for us, and even if she’s angry at us for something stupid that we’ve done, she’s always got our back and we all know that,” said Eric Tran (12), one of Krishna’s friends who also helped coin the name. “One of her biggest values has always been loyalty and friendship, and she shows that in the way that she cares for all her friends.”
Not only does she use her values to be a friend to others, but she also defends her beliefs even when questioned, inspiring others in turn the way her mother, her sister and Ms. Nace have inspired her.
“She’s very strong in her opinions,” Ashna Chandra (12) said. “If anyone contradicts her, she’ll make sure to fight her case until she’s proven right, or she’ll storm off or something if no one is willing to hear her viewpoint. It’s unique because you always want to have someone who doesn’t mend their opinions based on other people, and she’s a person who will always fight for her beliefs, and I find that inspiring.”
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you arent going to get those championships if you arent 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/DSC5146-475x317.jpg)
![“Most of our entire friend group played basketball in middle school,” Akshaya Vemuri (12) said. “And on one bus ride, we wanted to come up with names for each other that were related to a family. Everyone has their unique identity in the group, and we kind of use their nickname to identify them. [Meena Gudapati (12)] was just writing down a ton of nicknames for me, and she started calling me ‘Akla’ after ‘baklava’ and just shortened it.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/AkshayaVemuri-MK-475x340.jpg)