![“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)
5.1 magnitude earthquake shakes San Jose
A 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit 12 miles east of the San Jose upper school campus yesterday at 11:42 a.m. The campus suffered no damage to the property and continued the school day as scheduled after the incident.
A 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck 12 miles east of the San Jose upper school campus yesterday at 11:42 a.m.
Three aftershocks followed yesterday at magnitudes 2.9 at 11:47 a.m., 3.5 at 3:08 p.m. and 2.8 at 5:20 p.m but caused no damage to the campus, so there was no need for evacuation.
“At first we didn’t know what it was and we thought it was strange — we thought we had imagined it,” Disha Gupta (9), who was on Davis Field during the earthquake, said. “But people started talking about it and the PA announcement came on, and we were like ‘Oh, that makes sense.’”
Just after the earthquake, Dean of Students Kevin Williamson made an announcement over the school speaker system to report the incident and to advise students to stay safe. Daniel Chen (10), who felt the earthquake while inside Manzanita Hall, commented on the announcement system.
“The warning system right now only works when you have a direct line of access to the intercom,” Daniel said. “I think since it was during lunch not many of the students actually heard it. It was only the kids inside teachers’ rooms or next to buildings that were actually able to hear the announcement. Lots of [my friends] didn’t even notice the earthquake because they were outside.”
Upper school chemistry teachers Robbie Korin, Dr. Casey Brown and Andrew Irvine were inside a chemistry classroom during the earthquake and followed duck-and-cover protocol as soon as they felt the shaking.
“The way [Nichols] is built — it sways a lot,” Korin said. “So there was definitely a lot of shaking, and for me, that was the biggest earthquake I had ever experienced even though it wasn’t even that violent.”
Korin explained that Harker will most likely not add any more safety precautions now since earthquake protocols have remained the same since the Loma Prieta 1989 earthquake in the Bay Area.
Yesterday’s incident marks the largest earthquake in the Bay Area since the 6.0 magnitude Napa quake took place in 2014. Research Geophysicist Dr. Annemarie Baltay spoke yesterday on the likelihood of further aftershocks from the earthquake in a video posted by the U.S. Geological Survey on Twitter.
“There is a 1 in 100 chance of an aftershock greater than a magnitude 5 in the next day,” Dr. Baltay said in the video. “There could be 10 to 15 aftershocks of magnitude 3 or greater in the next week.”
Additional reporting by Tiffany Zhu.
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