![“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)
Over 70 members of Harker’s speech and debate team performed well at recent fall tournaments in September, including the Greenhill Fall Classic in Addison, Texas from Sept. 13-18, the Mid America Cup in West Des Moines, Iowa from Sept. 22-25 and the Stephen Stewart Memorial Invitational in Milpitas, California from Sept. 22-24. At these events, students aim to win top speaker awards and secure Tournament of Champions (TOC) bids to qualify for one of the most prestigious competitions in speech and debate.
At the Stephen Stewart Memorial Invitational, Shreyas Chakravarthy (11) secured a TOC bid in Domestic Extemporaneous, and Ariel Zhang (10) secured one in Original Oratory. Ansh Sheth (12) and Sofia Shah (10) won the top speaker awards at the Greenhill Fall Classic and Sophomore Throw-Down section at Mid America Cup, respectively. Roshan Amurthur (10) won a TOC bid at the Mid America Cup, and he and Sofia both got bids at the Greenhill Fall Classic.
Making it to the finals and winning awards at these tournaments is a recurring goal as Harker’s team strives to better its performance each year. Upper school speech and debate coaches Greg Achten, Jenny Achten, and Scott Odekirk guided Harker at these events. The close sense of camaraderie that exists between members of Harker’s team contributes to their continued success, noted Greg Achten.
“The thing that I think makes our team successful is that all of the students really work for one
another,” Greg Achten said. “All of our students really are pulling for each other. If one of our students is eliminated from the tournament, the first thing they do is ask what they can do to help their teammates who are still debating … so it’s a real team effort.”
Robert Fields (11), who competed at the Stephen Stewart Memorial in Original Oratory and Extemporaneous categories, echoed Achten’s sentiment, as he appreciated the team dynamics and supportive community that immediately embraced him when he joined the team. Beyond just helping him develop his speaking skills, Robert’s new teammates quickly became close friends.
“When I first joined, I thought it would be sort of cliquey with a bunch of different groups,” Robert said. “But the upperclassmen and the underclassmen get along together … there’s a strong feeling of community already.”
Ariel also participated in the Stephen Stewart Memorial in Original Oratory and Impromptu, but she expressed a different sentiment, noting instead the community that exists between the speakers on different teams. The inherent competition present in these tournaments didn;t lead to strained relationships; speakers actually formed close bonds and were very supportive of each other.
“You’re a part of such a close knit community, and in this community, people are vulnerable,” Ariel said. “Through this vulnerability, you have this invincible strength in all of these people.”
