![“[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)
Students attend service-themed assembly and fair
Maya Shukla (11) presents her service opportunity to students walking by. The fair took place after advisory on Nov. 12.
November 22, 2018
Former National Honor Society adviser Mike Pistacchi worked with the NHS to hold Harker’s fourth annual Service Fair, where students could sign up to volunteer at any of the organizations present, on Nov. 12. This year, it hosted 30 organizations, compared with less than 10 when the fair first began four years ago.
“The exciting thing about the fair is that there are organizations that represent a huge diversity of ways to do service,” Pistacchi said. “It really doesn’t matter where your skills or interests lie; there will be a group that meets those interests.”
This year, rather than going directly to the fair, freshmen and sophomores attended an assembly in place of advisory to hear from Pistacchi and Jason Lin (10) about the meaning of service and their experiences with it.
During his speech at the assembly, Jason discussed a service project he did over the summer, in which he worked with a group of friends to organize a concert for charity.
“[Ms. Kerry Enzensperger] approached me to speak about it, and she told me that I could spread my message,” he said. “I thought that if I could just get a few more kids to also get their friends to do it, we can make a lot more change.”
Unlike past years, the majority of booths were hosted by students. During the fair, 24 students represented either outside organizations or organizations they had started.
Sophomore Krishay Mukhija founded Suits2Empower two years ago as a way for underprivileged students to gain access to formal clothing for speech and debate.
“It’s great to find more volunteers who can help grow the organization, like we need help with inventory management; we need help with the web development,” he said.
The fair also included on-campus clubs such as Key Club and Interact, and students from each of these groups represented them at the fair.
One of the other organizations present was Red Cross, which provided a new way to participate in the non-profit than through the club.
“I signed up to be on the business side of the Red Cross organization because currently I volunteer as a part of the disaster committee of Red Cross,” Suman Mohanty (10) said. “I think it would be really fun to help out on the fundraising side as well.”
Stephanie Xiao (12), the president of Interact, hosted a booth alongside other members in order to expand the club.
“It’s not about the hours with us because we do so much community service,” she said. “There’s service in everything, so you could be working at a social event, or you could also go to a homeless shelter and serve meals, or you could also go to Second Harvest Food Bank. If you have that passion for service, you’ll find what you want to do.”
