![“[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)
Students clean creek for California Coastal Cleanup Day
Green Team Public Relations Head Joelle Wang (11) and member Lindsey Tuckey (10) place trash in a bag as possible at a Campbell creek for Coastal Cleanup Day. A total of 18 students participated in the event as part of California’s Coastal Cleanup Day on Sept. 17.
September 28, 2022
18 students, including Green Team members, and three teachers attended the California Coastal Cleanup Day event on Sept. 17 in Campbell to clean up trash near a creek in an effort to decrease water contamination.
Coastal Cleanup Day, which happens on the third Saturday of September, has taken place for 38 years. South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition (SBCCC), who organized the creek cleanup, hosted multiple other cleanups on Saturday as well. SBCCC also collaborates with organizations such as Google to help improve sustainability. Members of the coalition met the Harker attendees at 10 a.m. at the Blackford Elementary School parking lot.
“It’s really nice to see such a grassroots effort with the South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition and see that there are citizen efforts going on,” Green Team Vice President Siddhi Jain (11) said.
During Green Team’s first meeting on Sept. 19, SBCCC Director Steve Holmes presented on wildlife such as beavers and salmon at the creek as well as various creek projects the coalition is working on such as creating murals.
At the cleanup event, SBCCC provided materials such as trash grabbers, bags, vests and gloves for participants and led the team along the Los Gatos Creek Trail for around two miles. Stopping at heavily-littered spots along the trail and areas closer to the creek, the attendees collected half a ton of trash primarily consisting of bottle caps, cigarettes and plastic wrappers. According to the California Coastal Commission, creek cleaners collected over seven and a half million cigarettes just on the annual cleanup days from 1988 to 2017.
“I expected to pick up trash but I was still surprised that there was so much trash because in California, or at least where we live, there isn’t that much of a littering issue,” Siddhi said. “It really opened my eyes to the intersectionality of littering and climate issues and also homelessness and climate justice problems.”
After the cleanup ended at 12 p.m., students headed to Campbell Park. With glass jars and metal straws provided by Green Team Adviser Diana Moss, students ordered boba from Breaktime Tea. Last year, Moss convinced Breaktime Tea to allow glass jar use when customers order their drinks. Green Team also ordered boba from the shop for Green Team’s Buy Better Boba sale, a project they began last year and plan to continue at Harker Day on Oct. 8.
