![“[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)
Trick or treat: Zombies, princesses, and e-boys, oh my!
November 1, 2019
As the clock strikes 8 am on a crisp and windy Thursday morning, the perfect Halloween weather, students scramble into class, greeting each other with shouts of laughter as they view each other’s costumes. Like a wild fashion show, each new entrance sporting every homemade or store-bought costume imaginable earns a round of gleeful surprise from teachers and classmates alike.
Callie Mayer (10) and Maria Teplova (11) are one of many others who dressed up as characters Stitch and Lilo from the classic Disney movie Lilo and Stitch.
Anoushka Khatri (10) and Kavita Murthy (10) dress up as characters from Riverdale, a Netflix show based off of the Archie comics.
Juniors Sofia Fernandez, Emma Boyce, Emma-Leigh Stoll, and Hannah Grannis dress up as zombies, complete with touches of red paint and black accents.
Sophomores Nikela Hulton and Brooklyn Cicero dress up as classic Disney princesses Snow White and Cinderella. “We dressed up as Disney princesses because they’re our favorite characters, and dressing up as classics brings back good childhood memories,” Brooklyn said.
Vance Hirota (12) kneels on one knee, resting a bloody, devil-makeup face on one hand. Vance intricately painted his face in dark colors to portray realistic scars and cuts.
“I wanted to challenge myself artistically to express my artistic side," he said. "Last year I only did half of my face, and this year I did my whole face."
Freshmen Allison Zhu and Alexis Nishimura dress as a devil and angel in classic red and white for the costume. “Being an angel and a devil is an easy and costume that we haven’t done yet, since we’ve been doing group costumes together for years now,” Allison said.
Seniors Kaidi Dai, Allison Yen, Roma Gandhi, Katelyn Vo and Anu Selvaraj pose as holy poop emojis in self-made coordinating emoji shirts.
