![“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)
AP Art History classes visit Asian Art Museum in San Francisco
Gloria Zhu (12) observes “Collected Letters” by Chinese artist Liu Jianhua. The piece is made of over 1,600 porcelain letters and fragments of Chinese characters.
April 11, 2022
More than 30 upper school students from the Advanced Placement (AP) Art History class took a field trip to San Francisco to explore the vast collection of the Asian Art Museum on March 21.
Located in the heart of San Francisco, the Asian Art Museum houses more than 18,000 artworks from every region of Asia ranging from the Persian world and West Asia to the Himalayas and the Tibetan Buddhist world. The AP Art History class has been visiting the museum for a firsthand learning experience since 2012. This year, the students’ annual trip returned after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
The students browsed the museum’s three expansive floors of galleries in self-guided groups for three hours, exploring both ancient and contemporary artwork exhibitions. Korean moon jars, Indian buddhas, Japanese woodblock prints and Chinese silk paintings were among the many gems displayed in the collection.
“My favorite part was the Chinese ink art,” AP Art History student Rohan Thakur (12) said. “Specifically there was one painting, ‘Cloudy Peaks at Dawn in Spring.’ I found it very interesting because it was slightly abstracted and slightly naturalistic. It was a landscape that I could stare at for a very long time and just get lost in.”
Upper school history and social science teacher Donna Gilbert, who teaches AP Art History and has always led the trip, hopes that viewing the artworks in-person will help students connect to classroom topics. The museum also holds a special place in her heart, with her favorite pieces including the Japanese woven baskets and the Buddha exhibition.
“It syncs nicely with this particular point in our curriculum,” Gilbert said. “It’s an absolute treasure that is often overlooked. Lots of people go to the De Young or the MoMA when they’re in San Francisco, and they miss out on this incredible collection.”
Although the museum’s labyrinthine halls contained too many artworks to explore in a single day’s trip, students were able to experience a taste of its stunning galleries. The expertly curated displays helped bring the artworks to life, allowing students to discover new details and perspectives.
“We visited the India, China and Korea galleries,” AP Art History student Claire Chen (11) said. “I really liked how a lot of the art in different areas of Asia are connected. You can really see how they were influenced by each other.”
Additional reporting by Nicole Tian.
