![“[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)
Humans of Harker: Balance
Leon Lu experiences life one step at a time
“I think that water polo is a sport where you can trade off strength for mental ability, in the sense that they’re equal parts of the equation. I think that I enjoy that sort of concept of having athleticism and intelligence will both be half of your equation to perform well in the sport,” Leon Lu (12) said.
In the corner of Mr. Hurshman’s room during a long lunch, a simple tune – the Geometry Dash Theme song – throughout the background noise of the lunchtime chatter from an electronic keyboard resonates. Headphones slung around his neck, Leon Lu (12) sits at the piano in a “relaxed concentration,” trying out different chords as his peers continue with their daily lunch time routines around him.
Leon perhaps embodies the ideal Harker student: a mixture of STEM and humanities and interests in both athletics and the arts – while still remaining humble and maintaining composure.
He competes on the water polo team at Harker and for an outside club, a sport which is perhaps the best combination of agility, raw strength, intelligence, and mental and physical stamina.
“I think that water polo is a sport where you can trade off strength for mental ability, in the sense that they’re equal parts of the equation,” Leon said. “I think that I enjoy that sort of concept of having athleticism and intelligence will both be half of your equation to perform well in the sport.”
Leon enjoys the fairness aspect of water polo: the fact that the game is played in the water levels the playing field as advantages and disadvantages one has on land do not necessarily translate to water.
“You certainly need strength but I think [the fact that everyone is in the water] allows a lot of anticipation and prediction about what other people are going to do and how to counter that,” he said. “It’s one thing to know what to do, in water polo, but it’s another thing to be able to actually do it, and I think that sort of idea is something that appeals to me in water polo.”
To clear his mind from the stresses of school and extracurricular activities, Leon surrounds himself with nature on his hikes.
“I think it’s different from my other interests because for me, hiking is something where I just sit and think about things,” Leon said. “I think that’s one of the things hiking allows for you to find in yourself, almost, and allows you to think about yourself and reflect on what you’ve done in the last four years of high school.”
Indeed, his ability to destress has led him to represent the “chill” mindset that has pushed him through his successes and his failures during his time in high school.
“I guess I would say that there are certain qualities that Leon embodies that I admire. He’s very calm and relaxed about everything, I would as far to use the colloquial term of ‘chill.’ He’s not perturbed by setbacks and he has a continually positive or at the very least balanced outlook on things,” close friend Alexander Young (12) said.
Michael Eng (11) is the multimedia editor for Harker Aquila who doesn't do much writing. This is his third year on staff. He enjoys editing videos and...
Nicole Chen (12) is Harker Aquila's Editor-in-Chief. She joined the journalism program in her freshman year as a reporter and became features editor as...