![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.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)
2023 Synopsys Championship returns to in-person science fair
Fiona Yan (11) practices presenting her research project at the mock science fair, which was organized by the Research Club on March 6. Fairs were held virtually from 2020 to 2022 due to the pandemic but have since switched back to in-person.
March 13, 2023
Upper school students attended the 2023 Synopsys Science and Technology Championship hosted by the Santa Clara Valley Science & Engineering Fair Association (SCVSEFA) at the San Jose Convention Center on Thursday, marking the organization’s first in-person science fair in over three years.
Students traveled to the San Jose Convention Center after school on Wednesday to prepare for the science fair and set up their presentation boards. The SCVSEFA required N95 or KN95 face masks to be worn at all times during the designated check-in day and the subsequent judging day, taking caution to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the event.
“I think it’ll be really interesting to compete in person this year,” Research Club officer Melody Yin (10) said. “In comparison to virtual fairs, in-person fairs require a lot of setup and technical work like figuring out logistics for a poster board and gathering notebook materials. Though it seems pretty stressful, I think this opportunity is also super exciting since this means that we get the opportunity to really show all the work we’ve done with our project.”
On Thursday, students reconvened at the fair site from 1:30 to 6 p.m. to present their projects to judges and experts in their respective research subjects. Sathvik Chundru (11), who participated in the science fair, emphasized both the benefits and downsides of the Synopsys Championship returning to in-person competition.
“Although you need to put in more work to make a physical poster board rather than just a slideshow, I think that being in-person will be more fun,” Sathvik said. “It’ll definitely make the experience more memorable for both the students and judges.”
To help students prepare for the Synopsys Championship, Research Club held a variety of events and activities throughout the school year focused on developing a research project and giving effective presentations. Melody reflects on the process of running such events and the purpose of holding them every year.
“This year, [Research Club] hosted a mock science fair to run through presentations and give feedback,” Melody said. “I think it’s a really important bonding aspect of the research community since we get to give each other constructive feedback and learn a little bit about each project. In the previous months, we’ve also hosted workshops for abstracts and presentation strategies to prepare.”
Students will find out the results of the science fair on March 26 during the Synopsys Championship Awards Ceremony, where students will be able to qualify for the California Science & Engineering Fair (CSEF) in April and the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in May.
