![“[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)
Spirit Night hosts festivities in anticipation of Homecoming Week
Senior class dean Brian Larsen adjusts the red beach ball-balloon to the seniors’ eagle. The different eagles had various props including this balloon, a skateboard and a scarf.
Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT) hosted various activities at Spirit Night after school on Friday for students in anticipation of Homecoming Spirit Week.
Starting from 3:30 pm, students could grab popcorn and pizza outside of Manzanita Hall from HSLT members; students also could participate in friendship bracelet-making and karaoke activities to celebrate the afternoon.
Spirit Night had been held in previous years, but HSLT aimed to make it a larger experience for classes to gather to finish painting their eagles to meet the deadline and get spirited before Homecoming Week.
“This year, we wanted to make it really exciting because this is the first year we’re actually able to bring spirit back in full,” HSLT president Sawyer Lai (12) said. “I’m just really appreciative of my team because they’ve all worked really hard to bring this Spirit Night.”
Students painted the eagles for each class, with painters adding finishing colorful touches on the four sides as well as decorative elements including a balloon for the seniors and a green Slytherin scarf for the frosh class’s “Harry Potter” theme.
“Seeing everyone’s creativity and hard work on the eagle was a really good experience,” Tiffany Zhu (9), who worked on the eagle, said. “I’m really happy with how our eagle turned out, given that it was our first year.”
Homecoming Week began today with dress-up for the sophomores and juniors, with their themes of “Justice League” and “Minions,” respectively, and the dodgeball preliminary games, with the sophomore and junior classes’ advancement to the finals.
Sally Zhu (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Sally wishes to interview more people around...