![“[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 10/9/18
Raphael Sanche (12), GSA president, gives a speech about his experience coming out as transgender in honor of National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11.
October 11, 2018
Juniors from the girls water polo team presented a video advertising their joint senior night with the boys water polo team on Thursday. The boys will be playing Cupertino High School at 4 p.m., with senior recognition at 3:45. The girls will play at 6:15 p.m. with recognition around 6. The junior varsity water polo team will play in between the two varsity games at 5:15 p.m.
Girls golf also featured a video to promote their senior night this Friday. Their senior ceremony begins at 6 p.m., and they will play against King’s Academy at Los Lagos Golf Course. The cheer team’s senior night will be on Friday as well.
CareerConnect announced Constellation’s 2018 Connected Enterprise Conference on Oct. 23 at the Half Moon Bay Ritz Carlton, a conference that will include speeches and workshops relating to blockchain and computational technologies. Ten upper school students can attend.
Harker JSA co-presidents Ayush Vyas (12) and Jai Bahri (11) announced that their first club meeting would take place during lunch this Thursday in English teacher Nikolai Slivka’s room. They encouraged their members to sign up for the Fall State Conference during the weekend of Nov. 17 to 18. The sign-up deadline is Oct. 23.
A new student showcase gallery, which will display works from Honors Directed Portfolio students over the next months, is opening in Shah, under the staircase near art teacher Joshua Martinez’s room. The reception took place on Tuesday, with an exhibition by Raymond Banke (12).
Avi Gulati (11) performed a “magic trick” to urge students to attend Quadchella, the upper school talent showcase, on Nov. 8 during long lunch. Photos of last year’s Quadchella by Harker’s communications department were projected behind Avi. Students can enter their acts at tiny.cc/quadchella.
Seniors Sophia Angus and Kelsey Wu introduced the LIFE mentorship program, which pairs underclassmen with upperclassmen in an effort to create lasting friendships and to spread advice. Freshmen and sophomores can sign up for the program at tiny.cc/lifementees. Juniors and Seniors can sign up at tiny.cc/lifementors. The deadlines for applications are Oct. 24 for underclassmen and Oct. 17 for upperclassmen.
Green Team president Anvi Banga (11) reminded students not to throw away their metal utensils but instead put them in utensil bins, which Green Team has placed near several trash cans around campus. The utensil bins are not to be used for plates and bowls.
Nikhil Dharmaraj (12) announced the Youth Climate Action Summit on Nov. 10 at the Tech Museum in San Jose, an event that will feature the likes of keynotes and presentations about virtual reality. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at techclimatesummit.org.
Harker TEDx played a video based upon Vogue’s 73 questions for celebrities, titling their video 15 questions with TEDx. In the video, Ishaan Chandra (11) asks Aditi Ghalasi (11) and Shania Wang (12) various questions regarding the upcoming TEDx event, themed “Dare to Differentiate” and held in Nichols on Oct. 20 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. TEDx officers Nicole Chen (12) and Taylor Lam (12) encouraged students to come to the TEDx event, as there will be many speakers in addition to extra credit for certain classes. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at tedx.harker.org or using flyers around campus.
Abhinav Joshi (12) and Charlotte Blanc (11) announced Make a Birthday Wish’s upcoming club week. The club throws birthday parties for children who would not usually have them, and its first meeting is on Friday at 12:50 in Bradley Stoll’s room.
Performing arts representatives announced that 14 students from the upper school were named to the Regional Honor Choir.
Julia Amick (12), the business manager of TALON, the upper school yearbook, reminded the audience to purchase their yearbooks. Students who turn in their yearbook order forms before Nov. 9 will receive a discount. Yearbook forms can be obtained from TALON members or the journalism room.
GSA president Raphael Sanche (12) gave a speech about his journey coming out as transgender in honor of National Coming Out Day on Thursday. He invited students to wear red and get rainbow stickers outside Manzanita during lunch on Thursday in order to show their support for the LGBT+ community.
Lastly, science department chair Anita Chetty spoke briefly about Howard Nichols, Harker’s former president. Every October on his birthday, students in all campuses celebrate his life and contribution to the campus by enjoying chocolate chip cookies, which he always kept in his office.
