![“[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)
Students and faculty gathered to celebrate La Noche Cultural, Spanish Culture Night, on April 19. Hosted by the Spanish National Honor Society, the annual event welcomes past and present Spanish students to enjoy a night of traditional Spanish food, performances and games.
“This year, we had more acts than ever, and we were slightly concerned about how it would feel for the audience to listen to that many,” Spanish teacher and Spanish National Honor Society faculty adviser Abel Olivas said. “But we mixed them up so that they remained engaged. Many of them wanted the participation of the audience, so that made [them] even richer. I was really impressed with the quality of the acts.”
Students performed Spanish songs, skits and dances to kick off the event. Five of 16 acts featured student-performed songs, like “Recuérdame” sung by Max Xing (12), accompanied by Carol Song (12) on the guitar. Faculty acts included “Asturiana,” sung by English teacher Beth Wahl. Students also performed dances, performing “La Negra,” a traditional Spanish folk dance, and “Bum Bum Tam Tam,” a reggaeton dance. Several AP Spanish Language and Culture students performed a skit about a family scandal in the style of “Caso Cerrado,” a Spanish courtroom reality TV show students watched in the class.
“Watching everybody do their acts is really awesome because you see people you don’t really see every day, and you see what they’re capable of doing and their talents,” performer Bhavya Srinivasan (11) said. “When we’re all dancing together here, we’ve never really talked to each other, but we all form such a bond in the moment. We’re all kind of family here.”
All students participated in a salsa dancing competition, in which pairs were eliminated from the dance floor by teachers until all but three teams remained. Bhavya and Sid Sanghari (11) won the competition out of the last three pairs.
To finish off the event, attendees formed a conga line and danced together, sharing laughs as salsa music blasted through the speakers. The group dance was Spanish 4 student MacEnzie Blue (10)’s favorite part of the night.
“It was really fun because I got to participate in the dance with everyone, which was a mix of Spanish cultures,” MacEnzie said. “It was fun to just enjoy the moment with everyone because this event happens only once a year. I really love the people, the music and the dances.”
After La Noche Cultural, many attendees stayed behind to talk to their past Spanish teachers or chat with other students. Bhavya reflected on how Spanish language and culture creates a strong sense of community.
“We’re bonding over something we’re all learning and we all love, or we’ve learned in the past,” Bhavya said. “I think it’s really important because although our school is small compared to other schools, we’re a huge group of students, so finding some kind of community in such a huge group is really an awesome thing. We all work together to make this happen, and it’s really inspiring.”
