![“[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)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasn't making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable," Carter Chadwick ('22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
![“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)
![“[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)
![“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)
![“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)
From June 7 to June 10, 12 students traveled to Indiana to compete in the Future Problem Solving International Conference, taking home five top-five awards and winning first place in two categories.
The problem-solving competition entailed teams of four students analyzing a future scene about a fictional pharmaceutical company in Brazil. The teams determined problems in the scene, provided solutions to the problems, and composed an essay describing how they would implement their best solution, called an action plan.
A team comprised of seniors Pooja Shah, Ria Desai, and Sonia Gupta in addition to junior Nikhil Dilip won first place in the senior division, the highest an Upper School team has ever placed.
“This year’s victory was completely unexpected; it’s mind boggling that we were able to beat out so many other powerhouse teams, especially because California is a relatively small affiliate that doesn’t obsessively prepare for the International Conference,” FPS Club President Ria said.
Sophomores Madhu Nori, Sindhu Ravuri, Tiara Bhatacharya, and Juhi Muthal won fourth place in the middle division.
“I thought the [sophomores] might do well since they were pretty driven and determined to prepare for their last year in the middle division,” Coach Cyrus Merrill said.
Junior Andy Wang won second place in the Alternate Competition, in which he competed on a team with other individuals from around the world.
Senior Shelby Rorabaugh won first place in the scenario writing competition, in which teams of three compose a future scene similar to the ones that are analyzed by the teams in the problem-solving competition. Her fifth place was the highest that any student from California has ever attained in the International Conference.
Teams also provide a presentation of their action plan, often in the form of a skit. Madhu, Sindhu, Tiara, and Juhi, in addition to Ankita Pannu (10) and Michael Zhao (9) won first place in the action plan presentation and performed their skit in front of all 3,000 International Conference participants.
The teams look forward to another year of problem-solving, and their first practice problem of the new school year will take place in October.