![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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)
From March 14 to 17, members of the Upper School Robotics team will travel to UC Davis to compete at the regional division of the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Competition.
After a six-week long “build season,” students finished constructing a robot capable of performing a series of tasks presented in the contest.
This year’s challenge requires robots to pick up foam basketballs and shoot them into hoops of different heights from 12 feet away. To meet these accuracy requirements, the team purchased and developed precision machining components.
“We were able to create a robot with a high level of precision that not only looks professional, but also performs quite well in just six weeks,” Christophe Pellissier (12) said.
According to team captain Jay Reddy (12), the software sub-team, in particular, proved to be integral to this year’s robot. In the past, the robot’s navigation was done entirely using manual controls, while this year’s software allows the robot to see a ball on the field and find the most efficient path to it.
Overall, many members felt that the electrical, software, and mechanical sub-teams were able to work together successfully and efficiently.
“I’m most proud of the way [that] the entire team [was] able to cohesively function as a group and continually improve upon previous designs,” first-year member Brian Tuan (10) said.
More members have been able to participate this year due to better training and a change of software from LabVIEW to Java and C++, according to Preethi Periyakoil (10).
However, the team also faced several obstacles in the building process. Strict weight requirements, time constraints, and a shortage of materials challenged the team to prioritize its activities.
“We have to choose […] which [tasks] are the highest priority, and deciding to do one part of the game but not another is probably one of the hardest choices that we have to make,” Jay said.
Nonetheless, the team is very optimistic about its performance this year.
“The electrical, programming, and mechanical [components] all came together, [and] we got a lot of time for practice and debugging that we didn’t in previous years,” Jay said. “This is definitely the best robot we’ve had since 2005 [when] we made it to nationals.”
The championship event will be held from April 25-28 in St. Louis, Missouri.
