![“[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)
Medical Club hosts speaker events for club week
Stanford Medical School assistant professor Dr. Al’ai Alvarez speaks at a Medical Club speaker event on Feb. 28. For their club week, the Med Club invited Dr. Alvarez as well as Dr. My Phuong Mitarai to speak to students about medicine.
March 17, 2019
Students crowded around the upper school Anatomage Table, marveling at the layers of skin and muscle that was displayed brightly on the screen. The anatomy tool was just one of the few activities that Medical Club members could partake in during and before their annual club week from March 4 to 8.
In addition to their club week, Med Club also held special events the week before. One of these included a special peek at Harker’s Anatomage Table, a virtual anatomy visualization tool costing tens of thousands of dollars and donated to the school by four parents. Up to 30 students were able to sign up for time slots on Feb. 26 as the anatomy table room has a limited occupancy.
On Feb. 28, Med Club hosted Stanford Medical School assistant professor Dr. Al’ai Alvarez and Good Samaritan Hospital physician Dr. My Phuong Mitarai, who both spoke about their experiences in emergency medicine in biology teacher and club advisor Dr. Matthew Harley’s room during long lunch.
“The speaker event was really interesting because [Dr. Alvarez] talked about CPR and what to do in a situation where you need to do it,” attendee Elizabeth Szeto (10) said. “I ended up learning a lot about emergency medicine.”
During their club week, Med Club officers and members sold boba, popcorn chicken and coffee during extra help and office hours to fundraise for the club.
“As of now, we’re going to use the proceeds for other events in the future. For example, we are planning on holding a dissection in the beginning of the year,” club president Simar Bajaj said. “If we plan another trip, we can use any profits to subsidize any costs associated with it. A lot of members weren’t able to attend our previous trip due to the high cost.”
Stanford assistant professor and pediatric otolaryngologist Dr. Kara Meister was scheduled to speak to students on March 6, but had to cancel due to a last-minute operation. Instead, Simar gave a presentation on the history of Johns Hopkins Medical School.
Planned speaker events for Med Club include child neurologist Dr. Jennifer O’Malley on March 26 and trauma surgeon Dr. Kristin Staudenmaier in April.
