![“[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)
Photo Slideshow Jan. 24
February 9, 2023
About the Writers
Tiffany Chang, Humans of Harker Editor-in-Chief
Tiffany Chang (12) is the editor-in-chief of Humans of Harker, and this is her fourth year on staff. She’s looking forward to telling the story of the...
Steven Jiang, TALON Conservatory Editor
Steven Jiang (12) is a Conservatory editor for the TALON Yearbook, and this is his fourth year on staff. This year, he looks forward to enjoying more Conservatory...
Andrew Liang, Co-News Editor
Andrew Liang (11) is the co-news editor for Harker Aquila and the Winged Post, and this is his third year on staff. This year, Andrew wishes to consistently...
Heidi Lu, TALON Co-Academics Editor
Heidi Lu (12) is co-academics editor for the TALON Yearbook, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Heidi hopes to interact more with her community...
Desiree Luo, Aquila Co-Managing Editor
Desiree Luo (12) is a co-managing editor for Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Desiree hopes to interview new sources and...
Kinnera Mulam, Winged Post Co-Editor-in-Chief
Kinnera Mulam (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of the Winged Post, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Kinnera hopes to get to know all the...
Lavanya Subramanian, TALON Co-Editor-in-Chief
Lavanya Subramanian (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of the TALON yearbook, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she looks forward to working...
Jessica Tang, Photo Editor
Jessica Tang (12) is the photo editor for Harker Aquila, and this is her third year on staff. This year, Jessica looks forward to using new equipment to...
Katie Wang, TALON Photo Editor
Katie Wang (12) is the photo editor of the TALON Yearbook, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Katie looks forward to photographing with new...
Selina Xu, Aquila Co-Managing Editor
Selina Xu (12) is a co-managing editor for Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Selina hopes to hold engaging conversations...
Alison Yang, Aquila Editor-in-Chief
Alison Yang (12) is an Editor-in-Chief of Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she looks forward to bonding with everyone on...
Grant Yang, TALON Co-Academics Editor
Grant Yang (11) is the co-academics editor for the TALON Yearbook, and this is his third year on staff. Grant is looking forward to designing his pages...
Medha Yarlagadda, Aquila Co-Managing Editor
Medha Yarlagadda (12) is a co-managing editor for Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she hopes to work more closely with the...
Kevin Zhang, Aquila Co-Managing Editor
Kevin Zhang (12) is a co-managing editor for Harker Aquila, and this is his third year on staff. This year, Kevin hopes to expand the scope of sports content...
Sally Zhu, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief
Sally Zhu (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Sally wishes to interview more people around...
