![“[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)
Classes participate in virtual bonding activities during spirit kickoff
Harker Spirit Leadership Team president Lisa Barooah (12) introduces spirit kickoff at the junior class meeting. This year, students participated in activities over Zoom to earn spirit points.
September 13, 2020
Students attended spirit kickoff in their class Zoom rooms and participated in activities prepared by the Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT) and the Student Activities Board (SAB) on Monday.
After advisors took attendance, students engaged in opportunities to earn spirit points, including a game of guessing classmates’ baby photos, a Kahoot with fun facts of members of the class and an escape room puzzle in randomized breakout rooms.
Planning for the event began back in August with virtual collaboration and meetings.
“We were just brainstorming, doing our best, and we came up with like 50 ideas and trimmed it down gradually,” Associated Student Body (ASB) Spirit Coordinator Calais Poirson (12) said. “So it was interesting, we kind of had to invent something that hasn’t existed before.”
Although having everyone participate in breakout room activities was a challenge, HSLT and SAB officers reported seeing collaboration in some rooms they checked in on.
“I helped run the freshman spirit kickoff, and one thing I saw was that in their breakout rooms, I thought that the freshmen were super engaged,” HSLT executive secretary Rohan Varma (12) said. “At least the six groups I managed bonded really well and had some good discussion.”
SAB officer Spencer Cha (11) recalled that the number of participants in the junior Zoom kickoff meeting declined even before the breakout rooms were opened, saying that the event “could have gone better.” However, he liked the way that the first two kickoff activities played out.
“The baby pictures and the Kahoot game were actually quite successful,” Spencer said. “They were good things to have in there that [encouraged] everyone to participate. Kahoot’s really great, because everyone’s competitive at Harker.”
