![“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)
School meeting recap 9/4
Head of Upper School Butch Keller speaks about proper student-teacher interactions at school meeting yesterday.
September 5, 2018
Harker Aquila’s first photo slide show of the year greeted students as they took their seats for the school meeting yesterday.
ASB President Neil Ramaswamy gave a brief welcome to the students before handing the microphone off to Dan Molin, the head of athletics at the upper school. Molin introduced the new captains counsel, a group of upper school team captains that would serve as the upper school’s athletic leadership.
Jaron Olson, the head athletic trainer, informed students of the various Harker fitness programs that could help fulfill P.E. credit requirements. This includes three sections of yoga, capoeira after school and fitness or conditioning during the day. He said that a Google form would be sent out to students this week.
Grace Hajjar (11), Arjun Kilaru (12), Mahi Gurram (12) and Adhya Hoskote (11) gave the traditional eagle update while the eagle mascot started the wave in the audience.
Performing arts representatives then announced that auditions for Our Town, the Fall Play, would be held in room 501 in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center from 3:40 to 6:00 p.m. yesterday and today.
Next, students watched Dr. Thomas Artiss’ Meet Your Teacher Feature video by Kathy Fang (11). Artiss’ interview was done both by Kathy and Jessie Wang (11).
Dr. Victor Adler, the newly appointed senior class dean, along with Zach Hoffman (12) and Arjun Kilaru (12), encouraged students to attend Spirit Kickoff by starting chants of “I’m going to Spirit Kickoff”. The event will be held from 3:30 to 7:00 p.m. this Friday.
Harker Robotics then introduced their Pancake event this Thursday from 3:45 to 6:00 p.m. They showed a quick video to outline their club officers and what each of their responsibilities are.
Mr. Anthony Silk announced the arrival of new chess pieces to the upper school using an excerpt from the children’s story Alice in Wonderland. He stressed how fragile the pieces are and that the pieces are not meant to be thrown or riden.
Harker Dev then said that they were looking for freshmen, sophomores and juniors to join them in making applications for the Harker community.
Debate teacher Scott Odekirk introduced Haris Hosseini (12) prior to Haris’ speech titled “The Man Problem”. In his speech, Haris highlighted the harmful effects of toxic masculinity and the recent actions of men in general.
The last speaker, Butch Keller, the head of the upper school, led students and faculty with a moment of silence for Diana Nichols, who passed away this past weekend. He then concluded the meeting with an introduction of school counselors and a commendation of the Winged Post and Harker Aquila for its coverage of alleged crimes against a former music teacher at the upper school.
