![“[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 Scene: Dec. 1
December 1, 2021
Space X launches Crew-3 flight
SpaceX’s manufactured spacecraft Crew Dragon successfully launched flight SpaceX Crew-3 from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 10 at 9:03 p.m. EST, its third successful launch mission to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX manufactured Crew Dragon, the third successful launch mission to the International Space Station (ISS), as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, the partnership between NASA and SpaceX to develop and commercialize human space transportation. The third Crew Dragon launch carried three astronauts from NASA: Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron and one astronaut from the European Space Agency, Matthias Maurer. The astronauts plan to stay aboard the ISS for six months to carry out scientific research in areas such as material science, health technologies and plant science. They aim to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and to lay down a foundation for future Moon and Mars exploration.
Facebook Rebrands to Meta
As of Oct. 28, Facebook, the parent company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus, will now be called Meta. This will not affect the names of the individual platforms under Meta. Mark Zuckerberg intends to stay the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the company.
This rebrand aims to solidify Meta’s role in advocating for a metaverse, which Zuckerberg sees as the future of the internet. Zuckerberg has spent more than $10 billion this year alone on creating an immersive version of the internet. Meta has invested heavily in virtual reality through its Oculus headsets and is building virtual reality apps for social hangouts and for the workplace.
Pfizer announces results of COVID-19 pill trials
Pfizer announced on Nov. 5 that its pill to treat COVID-19 has been found to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% among at-risk adults who received the drug within three days of exhibiting symptoms. The study was conducted for 28 days before being terminated early due to the staggering efficacy of the pill, which has also proven to be effective against other known coronaviruses. The arrival of these easy-to-use pills, which are being sold under the name Paxlovid, can be prescribed more broadly as an at home treatment.
Pfizer is working to ensure access for those around the world who need it most. They said that they expect to produce enough pills for more than 180,000 people by the end of this year and for more than 21 million people by the end of next year.
Toyota designs “The Hydrogen Dream,” a hydrogen-powered car
Toyota has designed a car powered by an engine that runs on hydrogen. This could help keep internal combustion engines, an engine that generates power by the burning of fuel with air inside the engine, in a carbon-free world. Toyota’s Motor Chief executive Akio Toyoda believes it would be more effective to convert internal combustion engines, technology that they already possess, to be carbon neutral instead of trying to create new power sources.
During the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Toyota declined to join a group that signed a declaration to phase out fossil-fuel cars by 2040, saying that they do not believe that the world is ready to shift to EVs. The engine is not completely carbon-free and thus can not be classified as zero-emission.
