![“[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)
Writers’ Advocate Club hosted its annual Scholastic Art and Writing Awards writing workshop during long lunch on Dec. 1 in advance of the competition’s Dec. 11 regional submission deadline.
Club president Sydney Ling (12) and vice presidents Tanisha Singh (12) and Felix Chen (11) workshopped two pieces written by club members in front of seven student attendees. Sydney opened the workshop at 12:50 p.m. with an introduction to the club and advice to the participants on which kinds of works they could enter into the Awards.
“For Scholastic, what has worked for me is to not think too much about it,” Sydney said. “I don’t think I’ve ever actually written anything solely for the competition. I usually just submit what I’ve written in my free time or in my English classes, especially since Harker has a lot of writing assignments built into the curriculum.”
For the next half hour, the officers read club member-submitted work aloud and suggested high-level revisions for structure and language. Attendee Fern Biswas (11) enjoyed the discussion even though their own work did not receive live editing.
“A lot of the advice that was given, like being able to navigate one’s own voice instead of following tropes, is applicable to everybody’s writing,” Fern said. “Overall, I think there was a good balance between discussing the specific Scholastic competition and improving the writing itself.”
The workshop featured a mythology-themed poem, “Gaea,” and a flash fiction piece, “Computer Says No.” Attendee Yena Yu (10) found the choice of unfamiliar genres useful to her own writing.
“When we were analyzing the poem, we talked about the nuance of using imagery that was relatable but not cliché,” Yena said. “I haven’t written a lot of poetry, so that was something I learned that I never knew before.”
While the officers edited only two pieces live, they provided feedback on all writing submitted to them outside of the workshop. Members who shared their pieces with the club indicated whether they preferred to review their writing with the group or receive feedback privately from the officers.
The Scholastic writing workshop marks the first Writers’ Advocate meeting of the school year. Subsequent club activity in the spring typically includes partnerships with other writing projects at school and preparation for the 2024 competition season.
