![“[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)
School meeting recap 12/2/19: Community service spotlight, Harker journalism update and re-opening of Nichols common area
Presidents of the Chinese National Honor Society (CNHS), French National Honor Society (FNHS) and Japanese National Honor Society (JNHS) Sana Pandey (12), Grant Miner (12) and Katie Chang (12), respectively from left to right, announce the three club’s upcoming shared club week. The three clubs will take turns selling cultural snacks during lunch and after school this week.
December 4, 2019
Avi Gulati (12) started off the first school meeting back from Thanksgiving break by introducing Kerry Enzensperger, director of upper school community service.
For the second community service spotlight of the year, Enzensperger introduced Bryan Zhang (11), who gave a speech on his own experience with volunteering and encouraged the student body to volunteer.
“The reasons I volunteer are universal — the people I meet along the way, the unique life skills that I acquire through the process, and the fact that I found a cause that truly resonated with me,” Brian said.
Harker Spirit Leadership Team president Grace Hajjar (12) announced the gingerbread competition during long lunch on Wednesday. In addition, she also announced the Christmas tree decorating contest and the window painting contest. Every grade will have a pane of glass in Manzanita in between the outdoor and indoor seating.
Adhya Hoskote (12), Giovanni Rofa (12), Rohan Varma (11) and Meona Khetrapal (11) gave the Eagle Update. Junior Anna Weirich became the first female Central Coast Section (CCS) champion in Harker history. She will have her name placed on the individual champions banner for CCS in the Zhang Gymnasium. Boys and girls basketball traveled to Maui over the break to start their season. The boys’ score was 2-1 overall and the girls lost 3-0. Boys soccer started off their season with 3-2 victory over Saratoga High last week. Girls soccer starts their season on Wednesday with a home game and they will travel to Independence High on Friday.
Alex Kumar (11), Maya Franz (11) and Vaishnavi Murari (11) announced the annual December Downbeat tour around the Bay Area. Downbeat will perform at the Harker preschool, Glide Memorial Church and Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital. Last stop of the tour will be a performance at 8 p.m. this Friday in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center.
Aquila editor-in-chief Kathy Fang (12), Winged Post editor-in-chiefs Gloria Zhang (12) and Eric Fang (12) and Aquila co-managing editors Arya Maheshwari (11) and Varsha Rammohan (11) gave an update on Harker journalism. The week before Thanksgiving break, 27 journalism students traveled to Washington D.C. to participate in the annual National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) convention. Last year’s Winged Post was awarded a Pacemaker, and Harker Aquila was awarded sixth place in the Best of Show competition for websites, despite having been accidentally placed in the larger schools category meant for schools that have over 1500 students. Harker journalism was also recognized for a number of individual awards.
Simar Bajaj (12) announced a Medical Club speaker event this Wednesday from 12:45-1:30 p.m., where Doctor Neha Joshi will be speaking in upper school biology teacher Dr. Matthew Harley’s room in upstairs Nichols Hall.
Aditi Ghalsasi (11) announced that Career Connect would be providing students with the opportunity to speak to Mariette Wharton, founder and CEO of the organization Nimble, at 12:45 in the Innovation Center during long lunch on Monday.
Finn Frankis (12) and Ethan Cao (10) presented a recap video of the robotics program at a recent competition.
Grant Miner (12), Katie Chang (12) and Sana Pandey (12) announced that their respective foreign language honor societies would be selling food throughout the week. French National Honor Society will be selling crepes and various baked goods, Chinese National Honor Society will be selling pineapple cakes and popcorn chicken and Japanese National Honor Society will be selling mochi and Japanese drinks.
The Associated Student Body (ASB) officers Alyssa Huang (12), Evan Cheng (12), Avi and David Feng (12) announced that the Nichols common area would be reopening this week. They reminded the student body of the ground rules of the common area. The downstairs portion will only be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the upstairs portion will only be open if there is a teacher there to supervise.
Avi ended the meeting by announcing a low of 50 and a high of 61 degrees Fahrenheit with scattered showers.
