![“[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)
National Chinese Honor Society held the first annual Chinese Lunar New Year Gala to welcome the year of the dragon in the Quad during lunch on Thursday.
Chinese students and students taking Mandarin showcased a variety of acts and talents featuring Chinese culture, ranging from flute playing to fan dancing. NCHS also hosted booths around the Quad, where attendees crafted paper lanterns, tried foods like fortune cookies and pineapple shortbread cakes and created bookmarks decorated with Chinese characters.
“You can put [paper lanterns] anywhere, and it gives you the atmosphere of Chinese New Year,” Cindy Yu (11) said. “Especially in America, in our house, we don’t put up decorations anymore, so it’s nice to have these things that represent [it] even though it’s been a week since Chinese New Year. If you have these physical decorations around, it makes it more lively.”
Students in Mandarin classes started the performances with an undulating dragon dance. They imitated the snaking motion of a dragon as they followed a student holding a pearl, representing wisdom. Tarush Gupta (9) and Nathaniel Idicula (9) then performed a skit about the origins of Chinese New Year, and Hannah Jiang (9) and Jennifer Liu (9) sang and rapped to “Follow.”
Sophia Bagley (10) played a flute solo and sang a rendition of “Sweet Like Honey,” and Nat Tan (10) sang along to “Happiness.” AP Chinese Language and Culture students performed “Give Me Red Envelopes,” and Yinan Zhou (11) followed up with a guitar version of “Meet You at Next Crossing.”
Frosh Eliana Chui, Sean Wang, Bianca Banzon and Nisha Padhi then took the stage and flicked open large fans with flowy red and white fabric to perform a traditional Chinese fan dance.
“The cultural significance of the fan dance is to imitate Chinese beauty and elegance,” Eliana said. “Back then, the reason why women were chosen to do the fan dance was because we were supposed to be dainty; we were supposed to be elegant. The whole point of the fan dance is to imitate this beauty and make it seem ethereal.”
Grace Fu (9) closed the gala playing “Spring Is Back to Lhasa” on the guzheng, a Chinese stringed instrument. Many students dressed in traditional Chinese attire like hanfu to celebrate Lunar New Year and showcase their heritage.
“I feel like it’s gone really well: it definitely seemed on par with Quadchella to me,” NCHS Vice President Yinan said. “I hope they just realize that at Harker people do care about Chinese culture and I hope they look forward to this event every year.”
