![“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)
Varsity girls soccer dominates Mercy SF 7-1
The varsity girls soccer team huddles up before a game on Friday. “We’re pretty close, and we can make fun of each other and not really get offended,” Divya Sivakumar (9), a player on the team, said, adding that she would not have met so many new people if it weren’t for the team.
January 21, 2020
Varsity girls soccer defeated Mercy San Francisco 7-1 last Friday in a home game, continuing their undefeated season. The girls have had a busy week, and even though various players were unable to participate, they ended the week strong.
“Today, our girls came out ready to play. It’s been a long week; this is our third game in five days,” varsity girls soccer assistant coach Alfred Edmonds said. “They came out, put a good effort in, put a few in the back net in the first half, and made the second half really easy for us.”
A few minutes into the first half, Emma Boyce (11) kicked the ball toward the goal, bouncing off Lexi Wong’s (9) back and into the net, scoring the first point for Harker. A player on the opposing team scored a goal a few minutes after, tying the game 1-1.
Emma scored the second goal. Following that was another goal scored by Lexi with around 13 minutes left in the first half of the game, with girls heading into halftime up 3-1.
Emma scored the fourth goal, Megha Salvi (10) scored the fifth, and Lexi scored the sixth, her second score of the game. The seventh and final goal was scored by Emma, with around 18 minutes left in the second half.
“I think we come in with a positive attitude. No matter who we’re facing, [whether] they’re a strong or a weak team, we always go hard and we always try to play our own game,” Amrita Pasupathy (9), a player on the team, said.
In addition to celebrating their win, they sang “Happy Birthday” for Lexi after the game, eating cake.
“We’re pretty close, and we can make fun of each other and not really get offended,” Divya Sivakumar (9), a player on the team, said, adding that she would not have met so many new people if it weren’t for the team.
The girls’ next home game is today against Pinewood at 3:30 p.m.
