![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)
Junior Classical League holds weekly certamen practice for regional tournament
Junior Classical League vice president Trisha Iyer (10) and president Rupert Chen (11) converse during certamen practice on Feb. 23. Members of JCL gathered in the Quad on Feb. 23 to play certamen ahead of California Regional Certamina Rounds on Saturday.
February 27, 2022
Junior Classical League (JCL) held its weekly certamen practice after school this past Wednesday in the Quad in preparation for the California Regional Certamina Rounds (CaRCeR) that took place virtually yesterday.
Certamen, which means “contest” in Latin, is a fast-paced quiz-bowl style game where players buzz in to answer questions related to the classics. During practice this past Wednesday, JCL vice president Trisha Iyer (10) and secretary Nicholas Wei (11) read out questions covering topics such as mythology, mottos and Roman history. The other attendees, JCL president Rupert Chen (11), Kabir Ramzan (10), Tiffany Chang (11) and Jeremy Ko (11), clapped or called out “buzz” to buzz in.
Hosted approximately a month before the California Junior Classical League (CAJCL) State Convention on April 1 and 2, CaRCeR is a regional certamen tournament which determines the teams that will qualify for the semifinal certamen rounds at State Latin Convention.
Trisha expressed disappointment over the cancellation of earlier plans to host the event in person, but she remains optimistic about the upper school’s chances at CaRCeR, as they have been going through packets of previous questions to prepare for yesterday’s event.
“It’s not the same, but I think that at least having practices in person does contribute to that sense of team bonding,” Trisha said. “There’s something different about being in the same room, and all of the body language that you can tell, that you can use to communicate with your team members and just play off of each other’s energy and knowledge.”
