![“[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)
On Wednesday, September 26, students and staff assembled onto Davis Field for the first emergency practice drill of the year.
“For the first drill of the year, it went pretty well from an orderliness standpoint. I was in my office doing the public announcement, and while I was [talking], I could hear Mr. Janda’s students hitting the floor. So, I knew that people were doing the drop-and-cover,” Assistant Head of School Greg Lawson said. “For me, that is the most important thing: that people are just practicing what we were doing because in a real earthquake people need to react in a way that they are comfortable.”
Dean of Students Kevin Williamson also shared Lawson’s sentiments, praising students for being “respectful,” which “makes it much easier for the people working to concentrate and get it done quicker.” However, there are still several improvements to be made, mainly in terms of the noise level.
“It could still be better with people walking out: people talk and they are talking quieter, but they shouldn’t be talking at all,” Williamson said. “As I said [on the field], there were some reports that people in Dobbins were being loud before going outside. These things are never fun, but the student body, in the Harker way, did everything close to perfectly.”
For the freshmen, their first high school emergency drill turned out to be “pretty standard,” according to Janet Lee (9), who quickly learned the procedures. For those who already had been through drills before, this practice served mainly as a reminder, but some have noticed improvements from last year’s practices.
“I felt this year was similar to the other years’, but it was a little bit more efficient because the entrance to the field was spilt up. People can get on the field more efficiently, so I believe it is safer,” Rohit Agarwal (12) said.
Students and staff will have another chance to practice emergency procedures with a code red drill scheduled for next month.
![Winged Post Editor-in-Chief Katerina Matta and Managing Editor Young Min were selected as first place winners from a pool of around 2,000 students. “This page [shows] how much we paid attention to detail and how much we pushed ourselves to ensure the best quality that we could,” Young said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_4254-900x1200.jpeg)
