![“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)
Ten upper school students attend National Speech and Debate Season opener, win several bids and take second place
Provided by Valerie Li
Sahngwie Yim (10) practices speed reading at the National Speech and Debate opener in Lexington, Kentucky last weekend. Ten upper school students participated in the tournament, with several receiving top awards and bids.
September 18, 2022
Upper school debate students received bids and top awards while attending the National Speech and Debate opener in Lexington, Kentucky from Sept. 9 to Sept. 12.
The tournament took place at the University of Kentucky (UKY), where Harker students participated in Lincoln Douglas events, debating the topic of whether “the United States ought to implement a single-payer universal healthcare system.”
The students who attended were Roshan Amurthur (9), Angelina Antony (9), Kabir Buch (11), Panav Gogte (11), Nyssa Kansal (8), Valerie Li (10), Ananya Pradhan (9), Sofia Shah (9), Aarush Vailaya (10) and Sahngwie Yim (10), with Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum debate teacher Greg Achten as chaperone. Of the 10 students who participated, eight advanced to the elimination rounds after six preliminary rounds, with Ananya reaching the final round and ultimately winning second place.
Harker students received seven out of the nine bids, or qualifying awards, given at the tournament. If a student receives two bids during the debate season, it would allow them to attend the Tournament of Champions, which will occur at UKY in April of next year.
“The Tournament of Champions is the most prestigious national tournament that we attend,” Achten said. “In order to qualify for the Tournament of Champions, students need to earn two bids to the Tournament of Champions, and so all of those students are halfway [to qualifying] after the first tournament, which is pretty incredible.”
The UKY National Speech and Debate opener was the first in-person debate tournament Harker students attended since the COVID-19 pandemic. Ananya enjoyed the opportunity to travel and communicate in person with teammates, connecting with them and other national debate students.
“I had a lot of fun because it was in-person, and it was also just nice spending time with the rest of the team,” Ananya said. “It was also nice meeting people from other schools and people who I had gone to debate camp with over the summer, even though we were opponents at this tournament.”
Prior to the tournament, students prepared cases in the intermediate Lincoln Douglas Debate class and the Competitive Debate class, both taught by Achten. At the tournament, they practiced arguments by debating each other and practiced speed reading, a crucial element of Lincoln Douglas debating. Along with Achten, several college debate students joined Harker to help coach the high school competitors and prepare their cases.
“Before the tournament, we had a team meeting,” Valerie said. “We talked about strategy, the topic, what we need to do and then before the round, coaches [came] and [we worked] together to figure out strategy for that round what [we] need to do.”
The next debate tournaments that the upper school speech and debate team will attend include the Greenhill School Invitational from Sept. 16 to Sept. 19, the Jack Howe Memorial tournament in Long Beach from Sep. 24 to Sept. 26 and the St. Mark’s Heart of Texas tournament in October.
“I’m excited for the rest of the season,” Ananya said. “I think this tournament is really an indication of what our team is going to do.”
