![“[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)
Homecoming Week Day 2: Students cheer in spirit parade, battle in tug-of-war preliminaries
Sophomore tug of war participants Aaron Bao and Leo Sobczyn rally the crowd, preparing to pull the rope. The sophomore class defeated the seniors in tug of war preliminaries during Spirit Week this Tuesday.
October 4, 2022
Students participated in the spirit parade, tug of war preliminary rounds and class color-themed dress-up today, the second day of Homecoming Week.
In the annual spirit parade organized by the Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT), each advisory selected a representative to march from Manzanita Hall to Davis Field, decked out in their class colors with props ranging from flags to masks. Their classmates, teachers and advisors watched on with cheers, joining the parade as it passed their locations. Jazz Band and Lab Band led the procession, playing “Second Line,” by Billy Gibbons, and “When the Saints Come Marching In,” to promote a lively energy.
Indigo Lee (12) served as the Kallbrier advisory representative for the fourth consecutive year and reflected on the emotions surrounding his final spirit week at Harker.
“The atmosphere was great, and getting to walk with [my friends] dressed in giant giraffe suits was really fun,” Indigo said. “The faculty were also really supportive, and it was fun to have a spirit day where everyone was united and able to be themselves.”
Once all classes arrived at the field, the sophomore and senior tug-of-war teams lined up on opposite sides at the center of the field. Although the seniors took an early lead, the sophomore team rallied and yanked themselves to victory bolstered by the cheering and support from their classmates and coaches, who exhorted their peers to pull with tenacity and strength. The contest took just under 37 seconds, nearly a half minute faster than last year, when the Class of ‘25 beat the Class of ‘23 in one minute.
After the seniors’ defeat, the frosh and juniors faced off, the frosh upsetting the juniors in 34 seconds. The two winning teams will compete for this year’s tug-of-war title during halftime at the homecoming game on Saturday, and the juniors and seniors will battle it out for third place before the game.
Victoria Ma (9), a member of the frosh tug-of-war team, commented on defeating the juniors, against expectations, in her first year at the upper school.
“We feel very proud of ourselves and very accomplished for beating the [juniors],” she said. “We hope that we’ll beat the sophomores [on Saturday] by being more spirited and more united.”
To gain more points in the spirit championship, students donned their class colors today, with seniors in yellow, juniors in black, sophomores in white and frosh in green. HSLT members checked in students outside of Manzanita during lunch to tally more points for each class.
For today’s dress-up, seniors tallied the most out of all classes, with 102 students checking in, while sophomores trailed at 85, and the juniors and frosh followed with 44 and 53 students, respectively. Jia Jia Jiang (10), a member of the Student Activities Board (SAB), noted the increase in school spirit compared to previous years.
“School spirit is definitely a lot better than last year,” Jia Jia said. “I think everyone is just getting into the role of it, a lot more people are dressing up, and that’s really nice. Everything just kind of came together during our practice and I felt like our grade had a really good bond with each other.”
