![“[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)
Student Diversity Coalition announces Challenge Day event for juniors and seniors
![Student Diversity Coalition representatives Uma Iyer (12) and Brooklyn Cicero (12) introduce Challenge Day on Friday. “[Challenge Day] was truly a transformative experience,” Brooklyn said in her speech. “It brought me a lot closer to my peers and allowed me to get very vulnerable with them, something that was a bit hard to do at first, but eventually I got used to it.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC_3179-e1631074854549-900x634.jpg)
Student Diversity Coalition representatives Uma Iyer (12) and Brooklyn Cicero (12) introduce Challenge Day on Friday. “[Challenge Day] was truly a transformative experience,” Brooklyn said in her speech. “It brought me a lot closer to my peers and allowed me to get very vulnerable with them, something that was a bit hard to do at first, but eventually I got used to it.”
September 7, 2021
The Student Diversity Coalition (SDC) gave a presentation to juniors and seniors in the Auxiliary Gym on Friday about Challenge Day, which will be held on Friday, Sept. 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Blackford campus.
Registration will be first come first serve with 100 spots available for students. The deadline for the Google form and permission slip is Wednesday, Sept. 8. Since the event is taking place on a school day, all absences will be excused. Challenge Day emphasizes empathy, compassion and diversity through powerful activities designed for both adolescents and adults.
Assistant to Assistant Head of School and Diversity Coordinator Tyeshia Brown began the event, and SDC representatives Uma Iyer (12) and Brooklyn Cicero (12) introduced Challenge Day.
“Challenge Day is a powerful and transformative day that can change the way we will view each other forever, and it’s a super fun day of friendship and new possibilities,” Uma said at the presentation.
At the event, students can participate in activities designed to help learn empathy and to bring them closer to each other. Challenge Day is only open to juniors and seniors this year. Parents can drop off students at the Blackford campus, but students can also park there or take a shuttle from the upper school campus.
“[Challenge Day] was truly a transformative experience,” Brooklyn said at the presentation. “It brought me a lot closer to my peers and allowed me to get very vulnerable with them, something that was a bit hard to do at first, but eventually I got used to it.”
To conclude the presentation, the SDC showed a video about Challenge Day from Monta Vista High School, which included student perspectives on the event. Before dismissing students, senior class dean and upper school English teacher Christopher Hurshman spoke to the students about the benefits of attending Challenge Day.
“All of you probably know what it feels like at Harker to go through your life performing a version of yourself, pretending to be some version of yourself,” Hurshman said. “Challenge Day is a great opportunity to let that guard down and be a little bit more of who you are, rather than who you want to be perceived as or a person that you’re worried you have to be in order to fit in here.”
