![“[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 1/24/23: Valentine’s grams, AI Journal and Black History Month
Art Club officers Laurel Davies (11) and Sonya He (11) speak about the Honors Directed Portfolio art showcases. The showcases will feature seniors Austina Xu, Sonya He, Aastha Mangla and Vivian Bi.
January 31, 2023
The school meeting on Jan. 24 started off with Siddhi Jain (11) from Rock Climbing Club who introduced the club’s Community Climbing session. The session took place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Movement Santa Clara Rock Gym, and no previous experience was needed to join this event.
Then, the Student Events Committee from Student Council announced the return of Valentine’s grams which will be available to students for five dollars until Feb. 3. They will be sold outside the library during lunch.
After the Student Events Committee, Conservatory representatives Kai Stinson (11), Aaron Bao (10), Shareen Chahal (11) and Jacob Huang (12), announced the Harker Concert Series: Cantus which will take place this Friday at 7 p.m. at the Patil Theater. Cauntus will also be holding a masterclass for vocal students from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the same day. They then showed a video on the Dance Production which was showcased on Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m., as well as on Jan. 28 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m..
Krish Maniar (12) and Kaitlyn Wang (11) then announced the new Artificial Intelligence (AI) journal. From research articles to opinion pieces, the AI journal welcomes students to write about a wide range of AI-related topics.
BB Ajlouny (12) and Zain Vakath (12) then lead the Eagle Update with updates on the current winter sports standings which included varsity boys basketball improving to an overall of 14-3 and varsity girls soccer taking a record of 8-2-1.
Following the Eagle Update, Kai and KJ Williams (12) from the Black Student Union announced their organization’s plans for the upcoming Black History month, which includes offering traditional African food during some lunches and raising money to make mental help services more accessible for black people.
Sonya He (12) and Laurel Davies (11) then went on to talk about the showcase of art portfolios which will be at the Rothschild Performing Arts Center next Monday and Wednesday from 12:45 p.m. to 1:25 p.m. The showcases will feature Honors Directed Portfolio seniors Austina Xu, Sonya He, Aastha Mangla and Vivian Bi.
The meeting concluded with Make Our School Safe (MOSS) club members Katherine Fields and Divya Venkat leading a one minute of silence for the victims of the recent mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly wrote Jacob Huang (12) as Jacob Lin (12). This article has been updated on Feb. 2, 2023 to correct for this error.
