![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.jpg)
![“[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)
App Development Club holds startup speaker event
Students attend Evan You’s speaker event, where he discussed his experience opening a start-up company. You founded Vue.js, which strives to make website designing and building more accessible.
February 26, 2022
Harker’s App Development Club hosted Evan You, founder of software startup company Vue.js on Feb. 8 after school at 3:30 p.m. in club advisor and upper school computer science teacher Anu Datar’s classroom.
The club’s leaders invited You to speak to club members because many students could relate to his experience of balancing a job while trying to start up his company. This idea could resonate with students, as the idea of balancing different responsibilities such as school work and also developing something complex like an app can be seen as a struggle.
“He had a really inspiring journey because he was still in his job, and that’s something a lot of Harker students can relate to like trying to balance school and creating apps and stuff like that, so learning about how he was able to do that at the same time was interesting,” vice president Sasha Masson (10) said.
Vue.js strives towards creating a framework for a frontend on any website to make it more lightweight and enable modifying different areas of the website without going to the backend. You not only spoke about his process in creating this company but also why he decided to quit his previous job at Google a couple years ago in order to pursue his passion and how he believed it has benefited him in the long run. As he continues to work for himself, You feels as though he has been able to work on something he continues to stay committed to.
Datar believes this was an important experience for anyone who aspires to develop apps as it shows how imperative it is to be passionate about your project and willing to put in the work as well.
“It’s very easy for my students to get frustrated when things take longer, and although I encourage them to be patient, I think once in a while it’s important to be like ‘Stop, I’m just going to change tracks into something that is going to give me happiness and gratification,’ which builds more patience for better results,” Datar said.
