![“[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)
STEM Spotlight: Biotechnology Club
“STEM Spotlight” is a new Aquila repeater showcasing STEM clubs and their initiatives.
March 27, 2021
STEM Spotlight is a new repeater exploring what clubs at Harker have been doing during remote learning. This week’s featured club is the Biotechnology Club, whose goal is to provide a hands-on experience in biological, computational and engineering concepts that can be applied to the real world.
The Biotechnology Club, a new organization started this year, investigates the intersection of biology, engineering and business. With over twenty active members, the club aims to prepare students for the annual Innovation Development Conference (IDC).
“The leadership team is getting oriented, but we’re going through some curriculum and posting extra resources on different topics, like biology, computer science [and] engineering,” Natasha Matta (11), Biotechnology Club co-president said. “We’re going to transition more to how you can actually pitch and write and more of a prototype type thing.”
Natasha and fellow co-president Anushka Mehrotra (10) are both members of the parent organization, Inno, and they decided to bring a new chapter to the Harker Upper School at the beginning of the year. While Inno offers large scale speaker events and organizes the IDC, the club also hopes to begin having Harker specific activities in the future.
“We were interested in forming a chapter, so we decided to try it out. We’re pretty interested in combining with the more business aspect, like making and pitching a product, and entering a conference,” Natasha said.
IDC, which drives most of the Biotechnology Club’s meetings, prompts students to design a biotechnology innovation that can address a modern day issue. Students work in teams to combine aspects of science with business and give a professional presentation. The club has prepared students to start brainstorming in January, create the prototype in February and March and submit a final product in April.
“[Students are] coming up with a biotechnology innovation; it could be something you wear or use to treat a medical condition, and they’ll be recording a video,” Emily Zhou (11), vice president of resources, said. “Real industry professionals will watch the video and give feedback, and because it’s a competition, there will be some sort of a ranking system.”
Officers hope the Biotechnology Club can be a creative and learning space for members, where students focus more on the innovation instead of the competition.
“Hopefully, members are learning something new in biotech and getting the opportunity to participate in the conference,” Natasha said. “Even just pitching or starting to create your own biotech product is a pretty cool opportunity for high school students, just having that creative space and experience in that field.”
