![“[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 travel the world for hands-on learning
provided by Chris Spenner
Student’s on the Alaska trip smile after an afternoon fishing trip in which they learned more about the region’s ecology and wildlife.
September 1, 2019
Four Harker-sponsored trips took place over the summer: students taking Japanese visited Japan, members of journalism toured London, students taking the summer ecology class traveled to Alaska and the cast and crew of Urinetown went to Edinburgh, Scotland to take part in the Fringe Festival.
The Japan immersion trip took place from June 6 to June 16, chaperoned by upper school Japanese teachers Keiko Irino and Yumiko Aridomi. The students flew to Tokyo, where they visited many historic locations. They then flew to the island of Hokkaido and attended Japanese classes at a local high school, relaxed in the Koganeyu hot spring and learned about the lives of Ainu people.
Harker students on the Japan trip smile alongside students and teachers at Ritsumeikan Keisho High where they took Japanese classes.
“Something new I learned was that Japanese people had different social standards than Americans, and I was surprised by how hospitable they were,” Elvis Han (10) said. “I overall loved this trip because I was able to make so many new friends and bond with them on a deeper level.”
Over 5,000 miles away, journalism students toured London and learned about documentary photography from industry professionals from June 7 to June 18. They were taught by photographer Mark Murray, and attended a course on documentary photography at the London College of Communications.
Eleven journalism students traveled with director of journalism Ellen Austin to London for ten days of photography course and practice.
“Usually, during the [school] year, we just report what’s going on at school, but going out to a completely different city in a different country opened up my eyes to what [we] can do in the outside world,” Arely Sun (10) said. “I got more comfortable with shooting in public and experimenting with photos in general.”
Meanwhile, students taking the summer ecology course, taught by upper school biology teacher Dr. Kate Schafer and physics and science research teacher Chris Spenner, traveled to Alaska from June 23 to July 3, after attending classes at the upper school and travelling across California to meet with farmers and union workers, work with graduate students and learn about research in relation to climate science. In Alaska, students learned about wild fisheries, botany and the ecology of various islands, snorkeled, hiked and saw the totem poles of the Tlingit tribe.
“We were in a cabin in the woods [on the Inian Islands], but it was like a utopia where there was a like-minded group of people who were all learning to interact with nature in a more direct [way],” Natasha Yen (11) said.
The performing arts trip was later during the summer, from July 27 to Aug. 9. After touring London for three days, the cast and crew of Urinetown traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland, where they performed in the Fringe Festival, the largest performing arts festival in the world. The cast marketed and sold out three out of four shows.
“The most memorable moment of the trip was the last chord of our last show,” Alissa Gao (11) said. “We could’ve sworn it shook the venue… you could feel how much we were putting into that final note.”
