![“[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)
The Class of 2024 gathered on the upper school campus from 2:30 to 10 p.m. for Harker’s first Senior Retreat on Wednesday.
The senior class council, Student Activities Board (SAB) and administrators planned the event, which featured an alumni panel, faculty-led workshops, engaging activities and a movie night.
Unlike the frosh, sophomores and juniors who bond before the academic year begins in their respective class trips, historically, seniors save their communal experience for the year’s end in May with the senior trip to Laguna Beach. This year, Head of Upper School Paul Barsky launched Senior Retreat to spark a tradition of welcoming seniors back to campus first, allowing the class to set an example for younger students and support each other in their last year of high school.
“A lot of people had the similar idea of ‘let’s create something unique and special for the senior class,’” Barsky said during the plenary session. “Having seen the seniors during senior trip, I thought, ‘Gosh, this is great. We should move this [to] the beginning of the year.’”
After a welcome from Barsky, who shared the purpose of the day’s plans, the retreat proceeded with a Harker alumni panel Q&A on navigating senior year, featuring Director of Alumni Relations Karan Lodha and Class of 2023 graduates Brian Chen, Lavanya Subramanian and Gwen Yang.
Seniors attended two workshop sessions, selecting from the ten available options that ranged from Zentangle: Doodling for Peace with upper school librarian Lauri Vaughan and The Nature Walk: A Tool For Your Dating Toolbox with upper school biology teacher Dr. Matthew Harley. Campus faculty hosted the workshops to teach seniors a variety of life skills and promote personal well-being.
“It was definitely different from what I was expecting coming to a Senior Retreat,” Zentangle: Doodling for Peace workshop attendee Adrian Liu (12) said. “Zentangle was very calm and we were all able to discover a new outlet for us to relax, maybe de-stress in a different way than we’re used to.”
Between workshop sessions, all seniors reconvened in the Nichols Auditorium to listen to senior class dean Carol Green’s presentation titled “Envisioning a New Tomorrow Today.” During the 45-minute presentation, Green discussed approaching the year with confidence and asked seniors to embrace a positive mantra for the year. Green highlighted this positivity with an exercise that asked seniors to visualize the upcoming year as she referred to pivotal moments in the months to come. The demonstration ended with an opportunity for the class to write a letter addressed to their future selves.
“There are going to be times this year when every single senior is going to run into something that they didn’t expect,” Green said. “I’m hoping that they’ll hold on to some of those tools and find a way to reframe, recover and respond in a positive way.”
Following the second session of workshops, seniors had an hour of free time to paint rocks, draw sidewalk chalk art, sing karaoke or play various sports on the field. At 7:15 p.m., students ate dinner, a selection of cheese, pepperoni and olive pizza. There was also lemonade and homemade cookies decorated with “2024” in icing.
As dusk arrived, seniors gathered on Davis Field to watch Despicable Me. Students took pictures with each other and huddled in blankets and layers as Senior Retreat drew to an end.
