![“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)
Happening at Harker 11/3: Pick-up day, Green Team book drive and Día de Los Muertos art contest
“Happening at Harker” is a new Aquila repeater which offers compilations of events occurring in the Harker community a few times a week.
November 3, 2020
“Happening at Harker” is a new Aquila repeater to be published a couple times a week with a compilation of upcoming events and opportunities. Through this repeater, Aquila hopes to provide a one-stop-shop for the Harker community to keep up with upper school events.
SDC Open Meeting: The Student Diversity Coalition (SDC) is hosting an open fishbowl discussion where people will be able to share thoughts on various topics such as privilege, stereotypes and microaggressions this Thursday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m in this Zoom room.
HELM and Art Club Speaker Event: Harker Eclectic Literary Magazine (HELM) and Art Club are hosting a Q&A speaker event with alumni Alisa Su (‘18) this Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:10 a.m. She is currently attending Parsons School of Design in New York City and will be speaking about her experience in art school. The event will take place in upper school visual arts teacher Pilar Aguero-Esparza’s Zoom room.
Pick-up Day: The next upper school pick-up day is coming up this Saturday. Freshmen are scheduled to come from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., sophomores are scheduled for 10:10 a.m. to 11:10 a.m., juniors are scheduled for 11:20 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. and seniors are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Those missing their designated pick-up time can come from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Green Team’s Book Drive: The upper school and middle school Green Teams and librarians are looking for book donations during Saturday’s pick-up day for the The African Library Project. Collected books will go to a library in Kenya. Harker community members are encouraged to donate lightly used English books that do not cover religion, politics, or history, and are meant for preschool to 8th grade students.
Curbside Checkout: The next upper school curbside checkout for books is taking place from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. during Saturday’s pick-up day. Students can return any books they currently have checked out, preferably in a paper bag with handles, and they can also place hold requests in the library catalog for up to 10 books to be picked up by 9 a.m. on Thursday. Requested books that are available can be picked up outside the Rothschild Performing Arts Center (RPAC) from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and confirmation emails will be sent to students whose requested books are available.
2021 American Mathematics Competition (AMC): The AMC 10 and AMC 12 exams will be conducted online on Feb. 4 of next year. If conditions allow, the competition may be held on campus. Additional information and practice problems can be found here. There is no cost for students to take the exam, and only members of the Math Club may participate. Sign up before Nov. 24 here.
Día de los Muertos Art Contest: Harker Spirit Leadership Team’s Community Events team is hosting a Día de Los Muertos art contest this week in honor of Día de Los Muertos this past Sunday. First place will receive 100 spirit points, second place will receive 75 spirit points, third place will receive 50 spirit points and fourth place will receive 25 spirit points. Students can submit their artwork any time before Friday at 8 p.m. here.
Great(er) Harker Road Trip: ASB’s Happiness Committee is launching their latest project, the Great(er) Harker Road Trip, where students can exercise, run, walk or bicycle and earn points for their class. As students exercise, they will be able to log their miles or duration of workout to give their class extra miles, moving forward through the route all the way to the finish. Students can vote on their favorite route at tiny.cc/roadtriproute and follow @harkerroadtrip on Instagram for updates. The fastest class will win prizes.
