![“[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)
The Speech and Debate teams faced a busy and successful month, winning three tournament titles over the course of early January: the Myers Park Laird Lewis Tournament, the Public Forum Tournament of Champions, and the James Logan Martin Luther King Jr. Tournament.
The Myers Park Laird Lewis title was claimed by Varsity team Frederic Enea (10) and Kelsey Hilbrich (12), while Akshay Jagadeesh (10) and partner Justine Liu (11) advanced to the round of 16. Both teams were invited to compete in the prestigious Public Forum Tournament of Champions, a tournament for the top 16 teams in the country.
Though Akshay and Justine were eliminated after four rounds, Kelsey and Frederic went undefeated, claiming the title after defeating the 2009 National Forensic League National Championship team in the final round on a four to one decision.
“We were very fortunate,” Kelsey said, “I was in shock … we won both tournaments back-to-back.”
“It definitely feels good,” Frederic said. “Things have been going really good for us … I hope we continue to do well.”
Sixteen participants also traveled to Union City for the James Logan Martin Luther King Jr. Tournament, with eleven making it to elimination rounds. Two teams, Ziad Jawadi (11) and Aakash Jagadeesh (10) as well as Justine and Akshay earned their second qualifying leg to the Public Forum Tournament of Champions, allowing them to compete in the invitation-only tournament, and setting a new school record in the event.
Aneesh Chona (9) and Anuj Sharma (9), Revanth Kosaraju (10) and Ishan Taneja (10), as well as Christine Chien (11) and James Seifert (11) made it to the round of 32 in Public Forum Debate of the James Logan Martin Luther King Jr. Tournament.
