![“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)
Upper School welcomes eight new teachers to campus
New teachers share high hopes and expectations for coming school year
September 2, 2018
David Hart – Orchestra, AP Music Theory, Study of Music and Performance Practice
Goal for next year: “This is my ninth year at Harker and it is cool that a lot of students have worked with me in the past. I think my focus will be on creativity and improvisation and how those play a role in the learning process.”
Fun Fact: Fifth generation Californian
Hobbies: Travel, gardening and yoga
Favorite TV Show: Curb your Enthusiasm
Rosalyn Schreimann – Counseling
Goal for next year: “I hope that I can be there to help students out and find some ways for them to sort of cope on their own when they are feeling stressed out or worried because I know that there is a lot of anxiety that goes on in high school.”
Favorite Movie: Forrest Gump
Favorite Books: We Were the Lucky Ones, The Help
Lyndsey Nelson – Counseling
Goal for next year: “I hope to become more familiar with the staff and kids. Overall I really want to make friendships and be supportive to everyone on campus”
Hobbies: Watching theater and ballet, non-profit work and going to the beach
Fun Fact: Huge Disney fan
Favorite Movie: The Sound of Music
Favorite Food: Mexican
Bhaswati Ganguli – Honors Precalculus
Goal for next year: “I hope to make my students confident learners and to teach them that math is not just a bunch of numbers. Instead, I hope they find that math stays with them their entire lives and will help to make them more self sufficient.”
Hobbies: Travel, reading and badminton
Favorite Movies: Amadeus and Nebraska
Dean Lizardo – AP Economics, AP Statistics and Behavioral Economics
Goal for next year: “I know that everyone here is a really high quality teacher, so I want to live up to those expectations by having all my kids be engaged in class, love what they are learning and hopefully find their new area of interest.”
Fun Fact: Owns 200 board games
Favorite Movie: Apollo 13
Favorite Book: Freakonomics
Dr. Jonathon Sammartino – AP Psychology
Goal for next year: “My hope is to get a lot of students as excited about psychology as I am. I also hope to learn more about Harker and to get to know the community.”
Hobbies: Tennis, board games, choir and watching sports
Fun Fact: Wrote a textbook
Hobbies: Reading, photography, and hiking
Favorite TV Shows: In Treatment and The Wire
Dr. Thomas Artiss – Honors Biology
Goal for next year: “My hope is to get my students excited or enthusiastic at some point about something we do, even if they are not a “science” person or self described biology person.”
Hobbies: Bee Keeping, Bird Watching, and kayaking
Fun Fact: Lived in India for 3 years
Favorite TV Shows: Big Bang Theory and Nova Science
Nikolai Slivka – English
Goal for next year: “My hopes are to prepare my students as best I can for tenth grade and to get to know as many of my colleagues as possible.”
Hobbies: Watching movies and running and hiking in the foothills
Favorite TV Show: The Sopranos
Favorite Movies: Ride the High Country, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, and Back to the Future
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on Aug. 31, 2018.
Correction: Sept. 3, 2018
A previous version of this article incorrectly labeled Nikolai Slivka’s favorite movies as favorite books. The article has been edited to correct this error.
