![“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)
Harker swimmers clinch fast times in second meet of season
Ashley Hong (10) brings her arms together before making a stroke in the 200 medley event. Ashley’s quick time in this event allowed her to qualify for CCS.
March 27, 2022
Harker hosted the West Bay Athletic League (WBAL) Jamboree 1A meet at the Singh Aquatic Center on Thursday at 4:00 P.M., inviting competitors from Castilleja School, The King’s Academy, Mercy High School, Notre Dame High School and Pinewood School.
Out of the 44 events in the meet, 30 Harker swimmers participated in 22 individual events and six relay events. Robert Zhang (11) especially enjoyed events where his teammates competed alongside him.
“The 100 free for the boys was nice,” Robert said. “The entire heat was all Harker, and it was really great to see all of us try our best and get some good times.”
Although it was only the second meet of the season, Kyra Cui (9) and Ashley Hong (10) qualified for CCS championships through their impressive performance in the women’s 200 individual medley. In addition, many other Harker swimmers shaved seconds off of previous personal records: Audrey Cheng (9) outpaced her previous times for the 50 breaststroke by around five seconds, while Indigo Lee (11) swam the 200 freestyle in under two minutes for the first time in his swimming career. Coach Sachi Ujifusa noted how the team focused on developing particular skills leading up to the meet.
“In practice, we’ve worked on a lot of technique, because we have a lot of water polo athletes that aren’t used to doing swim specific things like dives, turns and streamlines,” Ujifusa said.
Besides competing against each other, swimmers also chatted with teammates and competitors from other schools in between events.
“Some of my favorite moments from today, and in any meet in general, is just seeing my friends from other schools,” Ipsita Mandal (10) said. “For club swimmers, we have swimmers from our club that we might recognize at other schools. It’s fun to race against them and just see them outside of club.”
Harker swimmers clinch fast times in the second meet of the season. The girls currently rank fifth and the boys third in WBAL standings, and the team will compete again in the Jamboree 2B meet on Thursday.
