![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.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)
Students vote for Recreate Reading book choice
Trisha Variyar (11) looks at the Recreate Reading book board in Manzanita. Recreate Reading voting opened yesterday for upper school students.
March 11, 2022
The annual Recreate Reading registration opened yesterday for students in grades nine to 11 at 9:35 am on Infinite Campus, presenting a selection of 70 books or topics to be read over the summer.
Recreate Reading is the upper school’s required summer reading program, where students choose from a wide range of books and discuss them the following year. Each title is sponsored by a faculty member or co-sponsored by a student, and freshman, sophomore and juniors placed their first choices on the Infinite Campus registration yesterday, and voting will close on March 18.
Student groups, which are limited to around 15 people, will first meet with their faculty members on March 28 and will meet again to discuss their readings in-depth on Aug. 25.
This year’s choices also include five author visits, where the authors of the books will join students for a Zoom visit on Aug. 25. Featured authors include Mary Smathers, Robin Ha, Rebecca Kuang, Harker alumni Wajahat Ali and Sanjena Sathien.
In addition, eight students will be co-sponsoring books this year, presenting a book of their choice alongside a faculty member. The librarians decided to start the student sponsoring program two years ago to give students even more of a say in which books to read over the summer.
“At the upper school, we really like the Recreate Reading program, because there is so much choice, you can read pretty much any book that you want, and if it’s not on the list, you can sponsor it,” upper school campus librarian Meredith Cranston said. “It really gives students choice about what they read, and it also gives students a place to discuss and laugh and question, and everything in between.”
From dystopian fantasy novels perfect for the avid world-building lover to evidence-packed historical readings about government and nations to internet-popular “Book Tok” reads, Cranston believes there’s a book in the list for every student to enjoy.
“There’s such a wide variety of books, no matter what you like to read, if you want to read nonfiction, if you want to read something that’s thought-provoking, if you want to read something that’s just pure escapism, if you want to discuss a topic with a subject expert, or just to have a really great discussion and have some fun, there’s a book for you on that list,” Cranston said. “That’s why I’m super excited about the list we have this year.”
