![“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)
KANSAS CITY — Twenty-one Harker journalism students and three chaperones attended the annual Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association National High School Journalism Convention in Kansas City, staying from Thursday to Saturday.
The convention boasts the largest annual attendance of any event dedicated to scholastic journalism. Over 5,000 attendees gathered to share and exchange knowledge and expertise and improve their publications.
On Thursday, the group toured the National World War I Museum and Memorial before heading to Union Station to explore and report on the shops and attractions inside, like an escape room, a model train exhibit and the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.
In the evening, trip attendees cheered on the Kansas City Royals in their baseball game against the Chicago White Sox at the Kauffman Stadium. The “Fist Pump Cam” featured trip attendees jumping up and down while enthusiastically celebrating.
“It was good to be there with the kids and I don’t think any of [them] had been to a professional baseball game before,” trip chaperone and upper school math teacher Bradley Stoll said. “It was the first time I’ve ever been on the big screen too, so that was cool at the end.”
During the convention itself, which lasted from Friday and Saturday, attendees could learn from experienced professionals, advisers and even students about a variety of relevant topics in speaker sessions. Harker Journalism staff hosted three sessions on Friday, titled “Humans of [Your School],” “Bringing Smiles to Your Staff” and “Comfort the Afflicted and Afflict the Comfortable.”
Students also learned from other speakers throughout the convention, who presented on topics ranging from “Feeling through the lens” to “Mindful AI: Verbal and visual brainstorming.” Assistant sports editor Claire Yu (10) visited the “Sports, graphic design and photo illustration” workshop hosted by local sports designer Annie Buckles.
“I thought it was very cool that she was so young,” Claire said. “Her designs were all really creative and really drew the eye in. She definitely inspired me to try to create my own sports designs and she gave us a lot of tips on how to make the process smoother and more enjoyable.”
Staff and advisers attended critiques for Harker Aquila, TALON and The Winged Post on Friday, where journalism advisers offered feedback on the publications and pointed out areas for improvement.
Two Harker teams competed in the JEA Quiz Bowl competition on Saturday after taking a qualifying test the day before. Juniors Felix Chen, Jonathan Xue and Alison Yang and sophomore Mendy Mao placed second overall out of 19 teams, narrowly losing to Torrey Pines High School with a score of 1-2. Harker’s Team Swift, consisting of juniors Katerina Matta, Emma Milner and Jessica Wang and sophomore Jessica Hu, lost to Libertyville High School in their first match during tiebreakers.
The Winged Post placed seventh in the print newspapers for “schools below 1,800 students” Best of Show award, and TALON placed tenth for high school yearbooks between 224-283 pages.
“It was just such a wonderful experience to see our newspaper get seventh place,” A&E/Lifestyle editor Young Min (11) said. “We’ve put in so much work and dedication to this publication; I just felt really rewarded for how much time I spent on it. It was fun seeing everybody scream and pop their fists in the air: hopefully next year we can place higher.”
Executive Director of National Scholastic Press Association Laura Widmer recognizes the positive attitudes of convention attendees and expresses her support of their publications.
“The students are so excited to learn and improve their publications and their broadcast entities,” Widmer said. “They are here and their energy is so contagious. I hope they take away that they have networked with so many people here to help them improve as well. And I want them to always remember that National Scholastic Press Association always has their back, and if they need any help, we’re here.”
Executive Director for the Journalism Education Association Veronica Purvis encourages convention attendees to be proud of all the work they poured into their publications.
“The students that come to this [convention] should be so proud of themselves,” Purvis said. “They should be so happy and grateful to the advisers of their schools for working with them and getting them here. Whether they win an award here or not, the fact that they are really interested in something and passionate about something like journalism and that they’re working on their skills is really admirable.”
