![“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)
School meeting recap 11/28/22: Winterfest, “Desolation Peak” and Middle Eastern Student Association
Head of upper school Paul Barsky claps after reading excerpts from English teacher Charles Shuttleworth’s recently published book “Desolation Peak: Collected Writings.” Barsky read from number 11 of 12 choruses and thanked Shuttleworth for his scholarship.
December 6, 2022
Associated Student Body (ASB) President Kris Estrada (12) opened the school meeting on Nov. 28 after students entered Zhang Gymnasium to the tune of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” as the Harker Aquila photo slideshow played, displaying images of students around campus from all grades.
Head of Upper School Paul Barsky began by discussing English teacher Charles Shuttleworth’s recent book “Desolation Peak: Collected Writings,” a collection of Jack Kerouac’s 1956 writings during his time as a fire lookout in the Cascade mountains. Barsky read from number 11 of 12 choruses and thanked Shuttleworth for his scholarship.
The LIFE Board then continued with a performance of a short skit, encouraging the Harker community to reframe conversations positively and look at problems as opportunities, and announcing Wellness Week. Each day in Wellness Week had a separate theme with events and activities.
Sonya Apsey (11), president and co-founder of the Middle Eastern Student Association introduced the affinity group to the school, inviting all Middle Eastern identifying students to meetings on the first D day of each month.
Future Problem Solvers then invited the community to a Scenario Writing and Scenario Performance Workshop last Wednesday during long lunch, in history teacher James Tate’s room. In the Scenario Writing event, one composes a flash-fiction piece set around a theme and at least 20 years in the future, and in Scenario Performance, students act out a story based on a topic. This year’s topics are e-waste, digital realities, robotic workforces and a throwaway society.
Harker Conservatory announced a Downbeat Holiday Tour, bringing music to those in need. They performed for Harker’s own transitional kindergarten students and Alzheimer’s patients at Glide Memorial Church. They closed their Holiday Tour with a performance in the Patil Theater at 8:30 pm on Friday. Additionally, today, performing arts groups from all three campuses performed at the Santana Row Christmas tree lighting.
KJ Williams (12) and Iris Fu (11) of the Student Diversity Coalition (SDC) discussed the second Annual Culture Week, from Feb. 27 to March 3. On the Monday of that week, there will be a Performing Arts Showcase, on Tuesday an Art Exhibit, on Wednesday a Culture Day & Dress Up Day, on Thursday an interactive world map in Main and on Friday Challenge day for sophomores and frosh.
CareerConnect announced a speaker event featuring Business teacher Patrick Kelly speaking on content creation. He presented on how to market a personal brand and become a content creator. The event occurred on Wednesday in the Innovation Center.
Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT) members Cynthia Wang (11) and Anja Ree (12) spoke on winter spirit events. Window painting will end on Thursday, and the theme for the senior class is “Frozen,” for the “Penguins in Madagascar” for the junior class, “Ice age” for the sophomores and “Snoopy” for the frosh class. Gingerbread house decorating occured during long lunch today, and Winterfest will be on Dec. 8 after school. Anja then announced the winners of the Art Club and HSLT dress-up day raffle: Jia Jia Jiang (10), Sidak Sanghari (10) and Sophia Bronder-Chang (12).
Attendees then raised their hands spiritedly for Eagle Update and Kris announced the weekly activities guide, dismissing the school meeting.
