![“[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)
AMC math competitions held virtually
The landing page for the online portal to take the AMC tests, hosted on the Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) website. Like previous years, all of the exams were 25 multiple choice questions to be completed in 75 minutes.
February 12, 2021
Upper school students could take the American Math Competitions (AMC) exams, on Feb. 4 and Feb. 10 respectively. All students at the upper school were eligible for the AMC 12 exams while only freshmen and sophomores were eligible for the AMC 10 exams.
Like previous years, all of the exams were 25 multiple choice questions to be completed in 75 minutes. The AMC 10 and AMC 12 both had multiple versions — A and B — which are intended to be identical in difficulty and question style.
Students could choose to take the exam anywhere from 5 A.M. to 8 P.M. Normally, Harker would create a special schedule to create one sitting of the AMC A exam. However, due to the 16-hour competition window, the school decided to allow students to take the exam at their own convenience.
All students can sign up for the AMC A every year. However, officers in the math club determine who is eligible for AMC B registration.
“AMC B is partly handled by math club where we determine which members are active according to their attendance at math club events and different competitions. Once we collate those names, Mr. Silk and Dr. Aiyer help register them,” co-vice president of math club Sidra Xu said.
To prevent cheating, students signed a certification form with a clause that an adult proctor is present. Additionally, upper school math department chair Anthony Silk offered his Zoom room to proctor the exam.
Throughout the year, the Math Club held practice sessions with the frequency of the meetings increasing just before the competitions.
“We offered a few practice sessions to help students who were interested. The weekend before the contest, all the officers opened up their Zoom rooms for students who wanted to just come in and chat about math,” Sidra said.
