![“[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)
Athletic competitions resume, cross country team participates in first meet
Kara Kister (10) runs during a cross country meet last year. Kara was one of four athletes to participate in last Saturday’s meet at The King’s Academy, which was Harker’s first athletic competition since the school shut down in March last year due to COVID-19.
March 1, 2021
The cross country team participated in their first meet of the season last Saturday, facing off against The King’s Academy and Notre Dame. Alexa Lowe (11), Alex Liou (11), Kara Kister (10) and Adam Sayed (9) represented the Eagles in the upper school’s first athletic competition since the school shut down in March last year due to COVID-19.
Around 35 athletes competed in the long awaited meet, following the safety precautions in place and paving the way for future events. The boys’ race started at 10 a.m., and the girls’ race began 30 minutes later. The course, which was composed of four laps around The King’s Academy track and two laps around their field, was two miles in total. Athletes were expected to remain six feet apart throughout the races, except at the beginning of each race when they lined up to start.
“The cross country teams from the [three schools] were sitting in different areas of the field, and there was plenty of space, so we were able to stay apart,” Adam said. “We were pretty close together at the beginning of the race, so we had to have our masks on. But as everyone spread out during the run, we were allowed to take our masks off.”
The Harker athletes did well in their first race back, with Alex placing sixth in the boys section, and Kara and Alexa placing fourth and sixth in the girls section, respectively. The three schools will face off again at the next meet, which will take place next Monday, March 8 at the Blackford campus.
“In terms of how I ran, I got a quick start to pull away from other people. Personally, I ran my fastest two-miles time and placed fourth place,” Kara said. “I was really excited to run in an actual race again, and it felt good running against other schools. Everyone did really well, and we are all excited for our next meet.”
