![Setter Emma Lee (9) sets the ball to the middle during the match against Pinewood on Sept. 12. “[I’m looking forward to] getting more skilled, learning more about my position and also becoming better friends with all of my teammates, Emma said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DSC_4917-2-1200x795.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasnt been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but Ive had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. Theres so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesnt 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 wasnt 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 its played such a major role in who Ive 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 Im [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)
![“Im 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 theres a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyones 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 arent going to get those championships if you arent 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)
TEDxHarkerSchool returns in-person to explore ‘Transcending Boundaries’ tomorrow
A TEDx banner sits outside Manzanita during lunch today. TEDxHarkerSchool will host its annual speaker event, themed “Transcending Boundaries,” in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center at the upper school tomorrow in a return to an in-person format after last year’s weeklong virtual event.
November 19, 2021
TEDxHarkerSchool will host its annual speaker event, themed “Transcending Boundaries,” in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center (RPAC) at the upper school tomorrow in a return to an in-person format after last year’s weeklong virtual event.
The day’s schedule includes four speakers who will present in the Patil Theater on a topic relating to this year’s theme.
“This year’s event is symbolic in the fact that it’s even happening,” TEDx co-curator Sasvath Ramachandran (12) said. “That’s one of the reasons why when we were thinking about themes, we decided upon ‘Transcending Boundaries’ — we wanted to come back with an event that recognized it but also celebrated the positive aspects of what has otherwise been a terrible situation.”
The day will begin at 9 a.m., and attendees will have half an hour to check in and explore the interactive booths set up in the RPAC lobby. Afterwards, two presenters will give their talks, followed by another 30-minute break and exploration period. The final two presenters will then speak, and attendees can subsequently attend a mentor luncheon from 11:40 a.m. to 12:40 p.m.
The 2021 speaker lineup is:
Internationally-bestselling author Dan Roam, who will be speaking on “The Back of the Napkin: How Visual Storytelling Works”; author, food activist and founder of Chez Panisse Restaurant Alice Waters, who will be speaking on “School-Supported Agriculture”; former MasterChef contestant and founder of the blog Milk & Cardamom Hetal Vasavada, who will be speaking on “Chasing My Creativity: Taking a Left Turn of a Pathway to Science”; Aaron Tran (12), this year’s senior speaker, who will be speaking on “A Foreboding of Horoscopes: Truth, Trust, and Fear in the Pandemic.”
I really love working as a team. And a lot of teamwork goes into [coordinating TEDx], and we all have our separate sub teams in TEDx…but we all get to work with each other and collaborate.
— TEDx Operations Associate Tanya Karpincyk (10)
In previous years, TEDxHarkerSchool has taken place in Nichols Hall, but due to its popularity and an increase in attendees over the years, the TEDx team decided to host the event in the RPAC for the first time in TEDxHarkerSchool history to accommodate for an expected audience of around 250 people.
TEDx started planning for the event last spring, when they recruited their team and began preparatory work, such as team bonding and timeline setting. Gradually, their workload increased, starting out light in the summer and intensifying during the fall, when they held weekly meetings to plan for the event.
Transitioning back to an in-person event highlighted the challenges that planning last year’s remote one had not seen: contacting mentors and finding booths is time-consuming, according to Sasvath, and the TEDx team could only contact local speakers to present this year, unlike last year’s virtual event. Nonetheless, the teamwork aspect of organizing the annual event is something TEDx Operations Associate Tanya Karpincyk (10) cherishes.
“I really love working as a team,” Tanya said. “And a lot of teamwork goes into [coordinating TEDx], and we all have our separate sub teams in TEDx…but we all get to work with each other and collaborate.”
During Tuesday’s school meeting, TEDx played a video that gave a glimpse of what the annual event will be like for underclassmen who have not yet had the opportunity to attend in-person.
Students can purchase tickets for $25 each by visiting the TEDxHarkerSchool website and clicking on the “Buy Tickets” button on the homepage, or by scanning the QR code on one of the flyers the TEDx team has posted around campus. Students with financial barriers can reach out to upper school business and entrepreneurship teacher Michael Acheatel about a fee waiver. Extra credit opportunities for attending have been confirmed by the Business and Economics department, with some other classes offering it as well.
“We are holding one of the first big, live schoolwide events since school opened back up and I am proud to be a part of that because I know TEDx is always a big hit every year,” TEDx co-curator Yejin Song (12) said. “And with the addition of the great speaker lineup we have this year, I hope to do justice to the TEDxHarkerSchool name.”
