![“[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)
Typically, it would be fairly common for students to wear sweatshirts of colleges they aspire to attend one day. But for more than half of the senior class to wear college sweatshirts on the same day–that is unusual.
On Tuesday, May 1, many members of the class of 2012 decided to wear sweatshirts of the colleges they committed to. Because most students are required to commit to the college of their choice by this date, students wore their college sweatshirts to commemorate the event.
The idea, which was publicized through a Facebook event created by Senior Class Treasurer Will Chang, evolved into something with a much greater significance.
“It really shows class unity, and our class is really close. It’s great that all of us decided to wear a college sweatshirt,” said Farrah Gulzar (12), who sported a USC sweatshirt. “I personally wore my college sweatshirt, because I’m proud of the place I’m going to.”
On the other hand, not all seniors decided to wear a college sweatshirt for several different reasons.
“Right now, I’m waitlisted at a few places, so I didn’t want to wear anything too out there, until I finally decided,” Maddy Rao (12) said.
By not wearing college apparel, students who remain on the waitlist at schools showed that they are undecided until further notification.
Not only did this event allow the seniors to come together for one last time as a class, but it also gave everyone an idea of where everyone else was going.
“It’s kind of exciting to see where everyone will be going next year, but it’s scary at the same time, that in two weeks, we’ll all be going to different places,” Nikhil Narayan (12) said.
The designated “college sweatshirt day” marks one of only three Mondays left in the school year for the senior class. The class of 2012 will be graduating on May 26.
