![“[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)
Seniors and sophomores unite with Eagle Buddies, juniors and freshmen attend LIFE sessions
Freshmen discuss the course planning website at their LIFE session on Friday. Academic Dean Kelly Horan spoke about how to maintain a balanced course load.
October 15, 2018
Seniors and sophomores met with their Eagle Buddies for the first time this school year, while juniors and freshmen attended their respective LIFE meetings last Friday during lunch.
After seniors and sophomores received and sent handwritten letters to their Eagle Buddies the previous week, they donned their special Eagle Buddies t-shirts on Friday in preparation for meeting their lower school buddies.
Seniors waited for their lower school Eagle Buddies to arrive on Davis Field, where an assortment of activities had been prepared: football, bean bag tosses, frisbees, giant four-in-a-row, horseshoe toss and more.
About half an hour into the event, seniors and their buddies lined up for lunch of chicken or veggie tenders, turkey or veggie corn dogs, watermelon, cookies and chips.
Meanwhile, sophomores travelled to the lower school to meet their Eagle Buddies in person for the first time, spending an hour bonding with them and enjoying a lunch of veggie or beef burgers, chips and cookies.
Upper school math teacher and head of the LIFE program Jane Keller leads the Eagle Buddies program and has organized the events for four years now.
“We have activities for [students] to do on the fields to interact with their buddies and their other friends’ buddies, and to have fun: put your phones down, close your computers, stop thinking about college applications and actually be a kid for a little while,” Keller said.
While seniors and sophomores spent time with their Eagle Buddies, juniors and freshmen participated in LIFE sessions for their individual grade levels. Juniors listened to youth advocate Charis Denison, owner of Prajna Consulting, explain sexuality as a teenager, including methods for setting boundaries, the importance of having open discussions and how to maintain a healthy relationship in the Nichols auditorium.
“High school is like the transition between you being with your parents and adulthood, and [LIFE] is for getting you prepared to handle things on your own and without your parents,” Emma Li (11) said. “For example, if you’re a girl, you’re expected to always say ‘I’m sorry’ and stuff, and for boys, they are more motivated to shut everything in and not tell anyone—to just endure, instead of really trying to address those problems.”
At the same time, Academic Dean Kelly Horan led the freshman LIFE session about course planning over the next three years in the Nichols atrium.
“I found the LIFE session pretty helpful, although I did know most of the information already, like when they told us not to take the hardest courses available,” Austin Wang (9) said. “Even though I probably won’t be using the planner website a lot, it seemed pretty helpful for [planning out] classes.”
Seniors, juniors and sophomores will have additional Eagle Buddies sessions and students of all grades will attend different LIFE sessions later in the school year.
