![“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)
Upper school activates lockdown, campus “all clear”
A chair leans against the door of upper school English teacher Susanne Salhab’s room to act as a barricade during today’s campus lockdown. After the lockdown from approximately 5 p.m. to 6:10 p.m., police have cleared the campus of a potential threat.
September 13, 2022
The upper school campus activated lockdown protocol this evening from approximately 5 p.m. to 6:10 p.m., and police have now cleared the campus of a potential threat.
At approximately 5 p.m., the barking dog alarm sounded through campus, signaling a potential unknown intruder on school grounds. Teachers and staff ushered students into buildings and into their rooms for the duration of the lockdown, where they built barricades and followed lockdown protocol, which includes staying inside a classroom and remaining hidden from view.
Associated Student Body (ASB) President Kris Estrada (12) was watching the junior varsity water polo game against Lynbrook High School at the Singh Aquatic Center when the alarm sounded from the field.
“I ran towards the Athletic Center and down to one of the locker rooms where we immediately barricaded the doors, turned off the lights, and we were there for about an hour,” Kris said. “It was a surreal experience for sure because I had never experienced such a situation where I had no idea what was going on, especially at Harker because I don’t expect to actually hear that sound.”
Head of School Brian Yager updated staff approximately every ten minutes about the situation, with the first one at 5:11 p.m. Administration communicated via updates with parents through email and the emergency texting system. Yager also gave an announcement to students and staff on campus toward the end of the lockdown over the speakers.
“We think it was a button that got pushed, hopefully accidentally, and we’ll be looking into [it] in the days ahead,” Yager said over the speakers. “Right now the police are finishing a sweep of the campus to make sure there’s no issue, and once they give us the all clear, we will clear one building at a time and [Upper School Division Head Paul] Mr. Barsky or I will enter each building.”
According to the emergency texting system, police arrived by 5:25 p.m. They individually cleared each of the campus buildings before Barsky and Yager officially ended the lockdown.
“Police investigated,” the emergency texting system wrote at 6:09 p.m. “All clear, likely false alarm. All safe, activities and games resumed. All shuttles diverted to Boynton.”
Melody Yin (10) was watching the junior varsity boys water polo game when the alarm went off, and she took shelter in the pool office.
“It was very stressful,” Melody said. “As time passed, and we realized there wasn’t anyone coming over, we got a little bit more worried.”
Many upper school sports teams, including junior varsity girls volleyball and junior varsity boys water polo, were in the middle of games when the lockdown occurred, and other teams were in practice. Following the all-clear, all sports games and other activities planned for this evening will continue as planned. As students left the classrooms and united with friends, there was a general sense of relief.
“Right now, students are okay, they’re walking around, and there was a sense of unity throughout the entire process,” Kris said. “And this afternoon has definitely been unexpected, so I will definitely remember how it was handled well by not only administration and faculty and police, but also our students.”
Upper School Admission Director Jennifer Hargreaves and several students barricaded themselves in her office during the lockdown. According to another email from Yager, the school will investigate more into the situation to find out why the alarm sounded.
“They’re going to try to figure out why it went off and make sure that doesn’t happen again,” Hargreaves said. “If there are false alarms, then people won’t listen when it’s a real one.”
Tomorrow, the school will communicate more about the findings of the investigation, and counselors will also be available in their Shah offices to speak with any students or staff members about today’s events.
Additional reporting by Olivia Xu and Jonny Xue.
