![“[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)
On Thursday March 8, the high school students gathered in the gym to watch the annual Hoscars 2012 Talent Show, featuring MC’s Michelle Lo (12) and Ananth Subramaniam (12).
The show included vocal, instrumental, and dance acts, and featured group choreographed numbers, duets, as well as individual performances.
For some performers, Hoscars was an opportunity for stepping out of their comfort zones to present their talents to the school.
“I think the best part was overcoming my nerves,” said sophomore Angela Ma. “Before I was shaking, and I was really scared, but once I got onstage it really wasn’t that bad.”
Kevin Su (9) was impressed by not only at how talented the performers were, but also by the effort that the organizers, student council members as well as members from tech crew, put in.
“I thought everyone tried very hard,” Kevin said. “A lot of work went into the entire event the acts as well as the show[’s] maintenance.”
The event included members of Student Council manning the doors and stage in suits and dark sunglasses, as well as results read from enveloped slips of paper.
Max Isenberg (12), both a performer and a student council member, thought that the event ran well and was a success.
“From a logistical point of view, I think it went much smoother, and it was much more organized this time around,” Max said. “I knew that getting the help of the technical theater students was really important for just getting the whole show organized and having it run smoothly.”
Apoorva Rangan (9) received the All Star Award (Best Act Overall), Simon Orr (11) won the Bootes Award (comedic performance), Nikhil Panu (11), Saagar Sarin (12), Spenser Quash (11) and the entire basketball team won the Galactic Award (group performance), the Supernova Award (individual act) went to Maya Nelson (12), and an Honorable Mention went to Divya Sarathy (12).
![Winged Post Editor-in-Chief Katerina Matta and Managing Editor Young Min were selected as first place winners from a pool of around 2,000 students. “This page [shows] how much we paid attention to detail and how much we pushed ourselves to ensure the best quality that we could,” Young said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_4254-900x1200.jpeg)
