![“[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)
Varsity girls lacrosse team falls to Notre Dame 7-8 in season opener
Katelyn Abellera (11) cradles the ball while running past Notre Dame defenders. Katelyn scored the first goal of the game for the Eagles.
March 19, 2022
The varsity girls lacrosse team lost to Notre Dame High School 7-8 at home on March 11.
The game began at 4:30 p.m., and in the first six minutes, Notre Dame scored two points. Consecutive goals from juniors Katelyn Abellera and Kyra Hawk evened the score with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Kyra scored another point for the Eagles in the last two minutes to tie the score once again at 3-3. Katelyn, who is a midfielder and attacker, explains that the team’s halftime adjustments helped boost their performance in the second half.
“We learned from our mistakes halfway through the game,” Katelyn said. “We had a talk with the coach, and after that we made changes to fix the mistakes and that really helped.”
The Notre Dame Regents gained a 3-5 lead a minute into the second half, but the Eagles responded just as quickly with another goal from Kyra. With 16 minutes left on the clock, the Regents were up 4-7, but the Eagles fought hard, with Kyra and Riyaa Randhawa (12) each scoring a point in the next two minutes. At the halfway mark of the period, another goal from Kyra had brought the score to 7-8, which remained the same for the rest of the night.
Midfielder and attacker Rumi Gupta (9) noticed several positive aspects of the team’s performance, most noticeably their effective communication.
“There was a lot of communication, and we were getting a lot of the passes more than usually,” Rumi said. “Defense was good on communication, and the transition went really well.”
The team had participated in several scrimmages as practice, but the game on Friday was their first real match of the season. Captain Thresia Vazhaeparambil (12), a midfielder and defender, voices optimism for the season ahead.
“Seeing all of our team’s progress from the first game until now, it’s so amazing,” Thresia said. “Especially because we have a lot of players who are new this year — a lot of freshman and sophomores — I’ve seen a huge improvement in everybody because they love this game and they have so much passion for it. They’re coming out everyday and really going for it.”
