![“[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)
Associated Student Body Secretary Cynthia Wang (12) opened the school meeting on April 15.
Upper School Division Head Paul Barsky congratulated jazz concert performers and Research Symposium volunteers for their work. He also reminded students about Harker’s values, noting recent inappropriate conversations in areas like Nichols Hall rotunda and Graduate’s Grove. Barsky encouraged community members to be respectful and kind to each other.
Assistant Head of School for Academic Affairs Jennifer Gargano then explained the award system, where teachers nominate students based on three categories: leadership, love of learning and mission of the school. A student who is nominated by more than one teacher in any of the three categories attends a dinner at the end of the school year.
ASB Student Events Committee members Shareen Chahal (12), Sam Parupudi (11), Amishi Gupta (10) and Ameera Ramzan (9) announced that Earthchella will be held this Friday in the Quad, hosted by chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine. Earthchella will host a raffle where students can enter by writing their observations on nature.
ASB Student Publicity Committee members Anish Jain (12), Jason Shim (11), Kairui Sun (10) and Stellan Lindh (9) next reminded students about the ongoing Martha’s Kitchen Food Fight fundraiser contest, with Harker currently ranked fourth with 1021 points. Students earn one point for each dollar donated, four points for each pound of food donated and eight points for each hour volunteered. The committee added that volunteering for the fundraiser counts toward Harker’s community service requirement.
Harker Conservatory representatives Shareen, Luke Mehta (12), Iris Cai (11), Sam and Jason announced the upcoming auditions for Harker Dance Company and Kinetic Krew, which will be held on Monday from 4:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., respectively.
Green Team co-president Kinnera Mulam (12) and vice president Shreyas Chakravarty (11) introduced Earth Week with a video highlighting the importance of being environmentally friendly, followed by a series of announcements of upcoming speaker events. During Friday’s school meeting, alum Simar Mangat (‘13), who founded three companies, will explain how to better care for the environment. Students will also be able to write postcards to legislators about climate change-related policies and adopt water bottles. Alum Sarai Rojas (‘14) plans to speak on April 23 about San Jose Clean Energy, and middle school English teacher Marjorie Hazeltine will present on fast fashion on April 25. The speech and debate team will host a debate on the topic of banning single use plastic, and the annual clothing swap will be held in front of the Rothschild Performing Arts Center from April 30 to May 2, and on May 1.
Before dismissing the meeting, Cynthia announced the new ASB officers for the 2024-25 school year: Sam, Alicia Ran (11), Jia Jia Jiang (11), Daniel Chen (11) and Ananya Pradhan (10) as president, vice president, secretary, spirit coordinator and treasurer, respectively.
