![“[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)
Inaugural student-run Harker Physics Invitational draws over 100 attendees
Provided by Joe Li
International Physics Olympiad Gold Medalist and Harker alumnus Rishab Parthasarathy (‘22) delivers a keynote speech virtually to attendees of the inaugural Harker Physics Invitational (HPhI). The inaugural contest took place on Nov. 19, gathering over 100 participants virtually.
January 17, 2023
The first-ever Harker Physics Invitational (HPhI) took place virtually on Nov. 19, gathering over 100 participants from both inside and outside Harker. The event featured an individual physics competition and a keynote speech before ending with an award ceremony.
HPhI is a new initiative started this year by the physics division of Physical Sciences Club. The organizers included juniors Joe Li, Aniketh Tummala, Gautam Bhooma and Sathvik Chundru, along with Alex Huang (10). Inspired by the success of similar competitions like the Harker Math Invitational and Harker Programming Invitational, the team hoped to bring similar attention to competitive physics with an event of their own.
“If you look in California, or even around the whole country, you can see a lot of math competitions and programming competitions for high schoolers,” Joe said. “But if you look at physics, you can’t find anything. That’s why we decided to host HPhI.”
The virtual event began with a brief orientation at 12:45 p.m. before the 90-minute individual competition, which started at 1 p.m. The contest, structured similarly to the F=ma exam, contained 28 multiple choice questions written by the organizers. The exam featured a wide range of problem difficulties, ranging from questions requiring basic AP Physics 1 knowledge up to entry level United States Physics Olympiad (USAPhO) problems. After the contest, International Physics Olympiad Gold Medalist and Harker alumnus Rishab Parthasarathy (‘22) delivered a keynote speech to nearly 120 students on participating in competitive physics as a high schooler. The award ceremony took place after a brief round of tiebreakers, with the top five competitors receiving gift certificates ranging from $10 to $50. Jerry Liu from Amador Valley High School won first prize with 23 correct answers, and Catherine Li (11) performed the best out of around 15 Harker competitors with a score of 18.
“It was fundamentally a student-led project,” Gautam said. “We mentioned it to our club advisor, and we asked help for advertising, but we reached out to speakers on our own. And the five of us made all of the problems ourselves, tested them, and then emailed a bunch of people to let them know that HPhI was happening.”
HPhI is now the premier annual event for Physical Sciences Club’s physics division, but the club plans to host more science-related speaker events and club meetings throughout the second semester, including astrophysics and chemistry events in the coming weeks.
“Overall, [HPhI] was a really fun experience,” Aniketh said. “I’m surprised it went so smoothly for its first year; everything was as we’d planned.”
