![“[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)
School meeting recap 11/3/22: Youth Activism Club, Student Diversity Coalition and Halloween costume contest results
Alicia Ran (10) answers a prompt to the “Finish the Lyrics” game. Junior Luke Mehta emerged as the first place winner and earned a Starbucks gift card as his prize.
November 6, 2022
Associated Student Body (ASB) President Kris Estrada (12) opened the first school meeting of November by welcoming students and faculty on Thursday.
Youth Activism Club president Mir Bahri (12), vice president Leisha Devisetti (12) and secretary Dyllan Han (12) presented first about voter pre-registration that took place during Thursday’s long lunch outside of Manzanita Hall. They collaborated with Student Council and Socioeconomics Club to make this a possibility for Harker students that are 16 years or older. The League of Women Voters brought representatives to help students pre-register, and students needed to present a physical or digital version of their California driver’s ID or their social security card.
Next, Student Diversity Coalition (SDC) sophomore representatives Fern Biswas and Ariana Gauba talked about upcoming plans for a town hall meeting, similar to last year’s dress expectations town hall. This semester’s town hall will cover issues affecting the Harker community, and the representatives called on students to fill out a form with their suggestions on possible topics before Nov. 27.
Harker Conservatory representatives Richard Zhang (12), Samvita Gautham (12), Luke Mehta (11) and Sam Parupudi (10) reminded the community about the Harker Concert Series that took place on Friday at 7 p.m. They also announced the next Conservatory concert, Music from the Eastern Hemisphere, happening in the Patil Theater on Nov. 10 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for admission will be free. Lastly, they commended everyone who contributed to the fall play.
Following the Conservatory’s announcement, BB Ajlouny (12) and Zain Vakath (12) presented their recurring Eagle Update. After everybody “put their eagles up,” they congratulated girls golf for taking second place in the Central Coast Section (CCS) Championships and wished them luck as they participate in the Northern California Regionals in Berkeley next Monday. Claire Chen (12) placed sixth in the individual category.
Girls volleyball fought hard against first seed Carmel in the quarterfinals of the CCS Championships before losing in their four-set game on Tuesday.
Boys water polo drew the seventh seed in the CCS Open Division Championships, marking the first time in Harker’s history that any sports team qualified for the elite open division. The team faced the number two seed, Bellarmine, in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Girls water polo drew the number one seed in the CCS Division II bracket and faced Carmel on Saturday.
They concluded their announcement with a reminder for those interested in girls lacrosse and boys volleyball to attend an interest meeting during long lunch at 1 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. respectively next Wednesday.
For the final announcement of the school meeting, Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT) called two representatives from each grade to participate in their interactive game “Finish the Lyrics,” in which HSLT members read aloud incomplete song lyrics and representatives raised their hands to finish the lyrics. Reciting the lyrics earned the representative one point, and singing the words was worth two points. The lyrics came from songs including “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen, “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X, “High Hopes” by Panic! At The Disco, “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals, “I Knew You Were Trouble” by Taylor Swift and more. Junior Luke Mehta emerged as the first place winner and earned a Starbucks gift card as his prize.
Next, HSLT member Sonia Yu (10) announced the Halloween costume contest results, with Avery Olson (12) winning in the best overall category, Sarah Westgate (11) and Phoebe Castle (11) winning the best pair prize, Fern with the most creative costume and Jacob Fernandez (12) for the funniest costume. Frosh Kairui Sun, Luke Wu, Spencer Chang and Stanley Chen won in the best group category, and faculty from the Office of Communication won the best faculty prize.
HSLT representative Paulina Gicqueau (12) announced the pumpkin carving contest results. The class of 2024 won first place, with 2025 taking second, 2023 in third and 2026 taking last.
Finally, before ending the meeting, Kris announced next week’s Art Club and Harker Spirit collaboration dress-up day color as strawberry red. The senior class council also organized a special gift of hot chocolate for the class of 2023 in the bistro which they could collect after the school meeting.
