![“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)
Spirit Week starts strong with Spring Sports Rally featuring 7 athletic teams
Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT) members demonstrate how to play the hula hoop game. This game required teams to step through a hula hoop one at a time while holding hands.
Spring Spirit Week kicked off with the Spring Sports Rally featuring athletes from girls lacrosse, boys volleyball, boys golf, boys tennis, baseball, swimming and track and field, who competed in a series of friendly games in the Zhang Gymnasium yesterday.
Upper school chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine opened the rally before handing the mic to Nick Delfino (12), who explained game rules and provided commentary throughout the remainder of the event. In the first game, each team chose three representatives to participate in a cup stacking relay. Boys volleyball took the early lead in the rally, with baseball and girls lacrosse coming close in second and third.
“It was really nice to get to cheer on the teammates and see everything happening,” girls lacrosse player and rally participant Jessica Zhou (12) said. “Especially from up there, it was pretty chaotic, but in a really fun way, especially when you’re actively knowing that you’re competing against other teams. As a team, we were strategizing what we wanted to do and how to beat the other teams.”
Next, each team put their musical knowledge to the test, sending one representative to participate in “Guess the Song” featuring “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift, “Classic” by MKTO, “Beat It” by Michael Jackson and more. Boys volleyball added to their winning streak, while golf emerged as the runner up team.
Track and field emerged victorious in the third game, where the teams competed to answer sports trivia questions, and the fourth game, which required teams to step through a hula hoop one at a time while holding hands. After tallying each team’s total points, Nick announced boys volleyball as first place winners of the rally, with girls lacrosse and track and field coming in second and third respectively.
“I think [spirit sports rallies] are such a great idea,” Emily Mitnick (10) said. “As athletes, we’re not allowed to participate in a lot of spirit events like football games, ultimate frisbee, and more, but this was just a fun way to compete with no stakes and get some recognition from the school.”
Boys tennis player Rohan Bhowmik (12) appreciates how the rally served not only as an exciting start to spirit week but also an opportunity to bond with his teammates.
“I think the sports rally did a good job cheering people up for spirit week,” Rohan said. “[Some members of Boys Tennis] were reluctant to even sign up at first, but it was nice representing our team and getting closer with each other.”
Looking ahead, more spirit events are scheduled to take place later this week with the regatta and belly flop competitions taking place tomorrow and the Spring Spirit Rally on Friday, which will feature the much anticipated spirit dances performed by each class.
“I’m looking forward to the spirit dance [on Friday] because I’ve personally put a lot of effort into it,” sophomore council representative Sam Parupudi (10) said. “All of our hard work will culminate in the few minutes we have to perform our dance, and I think that payoff is going to be very satisfying.”
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