![“[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)
Associated Student Body (ASB) President Daniel Lin (12) opened the first school meeting of the year on Tuesday.
Performing Arts Production Manager Brian Larsen began the meeting by discussing the basics of microphone use.
HarkerDev President Kabir Ramzan (12) introduced different apps made by the organization. The Harker bell schedule can display customizable schedules for the next month and show the lunch menu for the day. A new update to Spirit allows class officers to set up competitions between advisories and track the points, and the soon-to-be-released An activities app will act as an information base for students to track different events around school, including a tab for clubs. All their apps can be found on HarkerDev’s home page. Finally, Kabir invited students to apply to join Harker Dev, which is due on Sept. 10.
Athletic Director Dan Molin reminded students that the Zhang Athletic Center remains off limits during the school day. Girls Volleyball played away against Ann Sobrato on Tuesday and will have a game against Branham on Thursday. Football will travel to the California School of the Deaf on Thursday, and Water Polo will face Los Gatos on the same day. Next, Upper School Assistant Athletic Director Alfredo Alves informed students that he would post information about PE options on Schoology shortly.
Conservatory members Jason Shim (11), Luke Mehta (12), Shareen Chahal (12), Sam Parupudi (11) and Iris Cai (11) invited students to the Conservatory Kickoff in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center (RPAC), which ran from 5:15-7 p.m. on Wednesday. Jason introduced the fall play “The Laramie Project” and announced auditions would run after school on Aug. 28 and during lunch Aug. 30. Shareen presented the spring musical “The Wedding Singer,” noting that auditions would begin Sept. 5.
Winged Post Strategic seniors Ariana Goetting, Kinnera Mulam, Ananya Sriram, Shareen Chahal and Edward Huang announced that the first issue of the newspaper would be distributed this Friday during lunch. They teased articles about Barbenheimer, campus toilet rankings and more to laughs and cheers from the crowd. The editors also pointed out the distribution boxes around campus.
ASB Secretary Cynthia Wang (12) introduced the new school meeting policy which minimizes club announcements by redirecting them to Schoology posts, a result of feedback from a student survey. ASB Spirit Coordinator Luke led two members from each class in a “Guess the song” game. Luke declared the frosh class the winners of the first unofficial spirit event.
