![“[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)
This past weekend, the Upper School hosted the 13th annual Howard and Diana Nichols Invitational Tournament: a Tournament of Champions Qualifying Public Forum Competition, which also included the Novice Workshop for new debaters.
A total of 23 schools attended the tournament, which was limited to Public Forum debate, although Upper School students themselves did not compete.
“This year we were doing an event that specifically honored Public Forum debate, and so we had our coaches and students work together to prepare both the varsity tournament and the Novice Workshop,” Communication Studies teacher and debate coach Carol Green said.
The invitational hosted the first installment of the Novice Workshop: a spin-off of Harker Novice Day, an introduction to debate for beginners, which is now available to the public. The session’s primary goal is to review the basics of Public Forum debate with newcomers while welcoming them to the community. Run by coaches and team captains, the workshop was popular amongst newcomers, according to the Joy of Tournaments website that includes the invitational’s information, schedule, and results.
“This is the first year the novice workshop has been held, and it’s a huge success. We have 75 students participating, which is great for the first year,” Green said.
Junior Jithin Vellian was one of several debaters involved in preparing for the event, which he thought provided benefits for Upper School students.
“We went through a lot of work to set everything up. Our debaters can see the other side of how a debate tournament operates and the time and effort students put into it,” he said.
Green also explained that hosting the event allows students to be more actively involved in the debate community.
“It allows them to help out with the […] community as well because there aren’t a lot of tournaments this big in the area,” she said.
Students who attended the event competed in teams for the championship title. Tournament champions included students from Los Gatos High School, with runner-ups from St. Francis High School.
![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)
