![“[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)
Upper school debaters co-champion national tournament in Lincoln Douglas debate
Provided by Jenny Achten
Akshay Manglik (12), Andrew Lee (12) and speech and debate teacher Greg Achten pose for a photo after learning about the National Debate Coaches Association National Championship results.
April 18, 2021
Andrew Lee (12), Akshay Manglik (12) and Deven Shah (11) co-championed the National Debate Coaches Association National Championship last weekend in Lincoln Douglas debate.
The upper school debate team closed out the tournament, with Andrew taking first place, Akshay taking second place and Deven making it to the semi-final round.
Akshay found the tournament to be “a great experience overall.” He observes that, with the online format allowing more debaters to easily participate, the caliber of the competition has grown.
“The tournament really brought us together as a team as well,” Akshay said. “We had a lot of people in elimination rounds, and even the other debaters who didn’t have a chance to make it into elimination rounds still stayed behind and helped prepare for all those rounds we had.”
Upper school debaters Anshul Reddy (11), Rahul Mulpuri (10), Deeya Viradia (10) and Ansh Sheth (9) also made it to the elimination rounds in the tournament.
This weekend, Andrew, Akshay, Deven, Anshul, Rahul and Ansh are also competing in the invitation-only University of Kentucky’s Tournament of Champions, an event featuring students who have performed well at previous tournaments.
