![“[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)
Eleven students competed in Harker’s annual Poetry Out Loud contest in Nichols Auditorium on Jan. 31 during long lunch.
Each contestant recited a poem of their choice to three judges, English teachers Nicholas Manjoine, Susanne Salhab and Beth Wahl, and an audience of students and faculty. The judges selected Eric Zhang (11) and Iris Fu (12) to advance to the Santa Clara County regional competition on Wednesday.
Poetry Out Loud, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, offers high school students an entrance into poetry and public speaking on a national scale. English teacher Jennifer Siraganian, who organized the schoolwide round at Harker, explained the benefits of reciting poems.
“I think it’s a really fun way to dive into a poem without the pressure of having to create one yourself,” Siraganian said. “You can almost try on a poem like you’re trying on clothes.”
Reciters chose from the program’s online anthology of over 1,200 poems, from Margaret Atwood’s mythologically inspired “Siren Song” to the more contemporary “Portrait of My Gender as [Inaudible]” by Meg Day. Eric, who took first place with Ross Gay’s “Wedding Poem,” described his experience with the recitation.
“Poetry Out Loud is a great opportunity to express yourself and explore a meaningful text,” Eric said. “Sometimes you just read a poem and it resonates with you, like my poem about the beauty of nature.”
Beyond the literature, Poetry Out Loud encourages public speaking in youth. Four-time participant Tanisha Singh (12) reflected on the valuable speaking experience she gained from the contest.
“I’ve noticed there aren’t many real opportunities for high schoolers to speak to an audience on a stage,” Tanisha said. “This is the only public speaking I get, and I really cherish it.”
About 4.2 million students have competed in Poetry Out Loud since its inception in 2005. Due to its growing popularity, Harker can only nominate two contestants to the county competition this year, down from three in previous years. Nevertheless, Siraganian encouraged students to discover poetry for themselves.
“A lot of times people close the door on poetry because they think they can’t understand it, or it’s just not relevant to them,” Siraganian said. “I would say, keep looking, because maybe you just haven’t found the right poem yet, and those poems are out there.”
