![“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)
Students, faculty partake in first annual Substance Abuse Awareness Week
Upper school LIFE program director and math teacher Jane Keller talks about the difference between vaping and “Juuling” at the start of the Psychology Club event on Feb. 19. Keller encouraged 30 students to think deeply about their values and discussed supporting peers struggling with substance abuse.
February 27, 2021
“Think down to the very last detail: what are you going to wear to a party tomorrow night?”
Students gazed thoughtfully into the distance on Feb. 19 as they contemplated upper school LIFE program director and math teacher Jane Keller’s question about planning out an outfit for a hypothetical party. After seven seconds ticked by, Keller explained her reasoning behind the question.
“That is how much time the average teenage brain has to make an in-the-moment decision,” she said. “If we can’t figure out what we’re going to wear, how are we going to make a conscious, good decision about what’s going to happen [at a party]?”
Upper school club leaders tackled the issue of substance abuse through speaker events, a presentation and an art collage during the LIFE Board’s first annual Substance Abuse Awareness Week from Feb. 16 to Feb. 19.
LIFE Board members Sujith Pakala (11) and Dhruv Saoji (11), who spearheaded this initiative, organized the week’s activities in hopes of educating students on the impacts of substance abuse and showing support for those dealing with addiction.
“At the end of last year, we were looking at projects that we could do to benefit the school wellness, and we looked at substance abuse as one of the areas where we felt that is pertinent to students,” Dhruv said. “I was surprised with how much diversity we were able to see in the ideas people presented [during Substance Abuse Awareness Week].”
After using a thinking exercise and playing a video during the Psychology Club speaker event on Feb. 19, Keller encouraged 30 students to think deeply about their values and discussed supporting peers struggling with substance abuse, sharing anecdotes and taking questions from the audience.
“The main takeaway [I have] is that, for students who are going through substance abuse, it’s really impactful to have an adult or a figure who will support you and guide you towards making decisions for yourself,” Sophie Wang (12), president of Psychology Club, said.
Spencer Mak (9) felt that Keller fostered an open, friendly atmosphere during the speaker event.
“I feel like that she made us like the entire group, in that meeting feel comfortable,” he said. “She gave in-depth answers and really made the people who were asking the questions feel comfortable, and I think that encouraged more people to ask questions.”
Public Health Club hosted a speaker event on Feb. 19 with psychologist and PhD candidate Kalpana Sundaram, who spoke to over 30 attendees about treating patients dealing with addiction. She discussed using micro interventions, skills that help patients with becoming more attuned with their needs.
“We’re so focused on all of the other aspects of life that we do not just focus on ourselves,” Sundaram said during the talk. “So teaching people basic coping skills, to self-reflect or self-care, and giving them the confidence that they can go out and seek help, that’s what I’m interested in.”
Joelle Weng (9), who attended Sundaram’s talk, found Sundaram’s use of micro interventions to help patients fascinating.
“I thought it was really cool that little changes could help deal with such expansive problems,” Joelle said. “The speaker event was actually really cool, because I hadn’t heard about the issue of substance abuse from the perspective of someone who works with people dealing with it.”
Medical Club, Art Club and Research Club also contributed to the week’s activities. Medical Club hosted a speaker event with East Valley Behavioral Health psychiatrist Dr. Janet Spraggins, about a dozen Art Club members created a digital quilt based on the theme of substance abuse and Research Club presented takeaways from a medical journal article on drug addiction.
The LIFE Board is currently planning to host another speaker event with The Dalton School’s Director of Health and Wellness Justine Fonte during this school year. Fonte previously spoke to students about sexual consent earlier this month.
For free and confidential treatment referral and information about mental or substance use disorders, call SAMHSA’s 24-hour National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
