![“[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 9/14/18
Student director Ellie Lang-Ree (12) announces her play at school meeting on Sept. 14. The four 2018 SDS directors are seniors Neha Premkumar, Emmy Huchley, Dilara Ezer and Ellie.
September 14, 2018
Jennifer Walrod, director of global education, introduced a visiting teacher from the Shanghai World Foreign Language Academy in China. Mr. David will be observing classes at the Upper School.
Johnny Wang (12) and Cameron Jones (12) invited students to apply to join the H-Crypt Development Group, which has developed software for student council elections, college counseling class attendance and the annual lottery for parking spots on campus. Applications, at harker.io/apply, will be accepted on a rolling basis. In addition, Johnny and Cameron asked students to try out H-Crypt’s custom URL shortener at harker.io.
This year’s Student Directed Showcase (SDS) directors, Dilara Ezer (12), Emmy Huchley (12), Ellie Lang-Ree (12) and Neha Premkumar (12), announced their shows.
Dilara’s play, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)”, is a comedy by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield about a troupe of actors attempting to stage all of Shakespeare’s works at once. Emmy will direct Eleanor Burgess’s “And Action”, a dramatic comedy involving actors trying to film an action movie.
Ellie’s play will be Diana Son’s “Stop Kiss”, about two women in New York City who fall in love but face a hate crime, and Neha will direct Eric Ulloa’s “26 Pebbles”, which deals with the aftermath of the 2012 shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
SDS staged readings will be held in Room 511 in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center on Sept. 24 and 26 during long lunch.
