![“[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)
Cameron Jones (9): Every Mother’s Day, me and my sister and my dad make breakfast in bed for my mother, and we give it to her. And we make French toast.
Paul Barsky, Upper School Division Head: Typically, what I do is certainly I call my mom, she now lives in Atlanta, and, buy flowers. So I always like to send her flowers on my birthday. I always like to thank her for having me, and then for Mother’s Day, as well.
Emily Mitnick (11): We’re going to celebrate Mother’s Day a little bit early, and we haven’t decided exactly what we’re going to do, but maybe we’ll go to the Japanese Gardens in Saratoga.
Celina Xu (10): I was thinking of going out to eat with her and getting a cake and just having a mother-daughter bonding day.
Patrick Kelly, Business teacher: My mom lives in Santa Clara, and so every year for the last 25 years, I brought her a Jamba Juice in the morning. It’s just something to continue the tradition.
Celina: She’s very hard working, kind and honest. She always tries to tell my sister and I to be good people. It’s okay to fail as long as you keep trying and keep working.
Emily: Her strength. She’s been through a lot and we’ve been through a lot together, so I admire the way that she’s just kept on fighting, and even through the difficulties, she’s maintained her confidence. She’s stayed focused and been able to overcome immense challenges, and I really respect her for that.
Barsky: My mother as a kid was really loving, embracing, very, very positive. And those are all attributes that I deeply appreciate, particularly as I’ve gotten older.
Kelly: Oh my gosh. Oh, man. So many things I’m going to, like start tearing up a little bit. My mom has been both the greatest role model and also the greatest supporter in my life. So everything from showing me how to treat people, showing me how to be a good friend to others, sibling, person in a family. She’s been a great role model as well as just being a support, whether it’s been in teaching, whether it’s been other pursuits, any kind of after school thing, she was always the most important person. So I appreciate so much about her.
Barsky: I remember my mom would always read to me in bed, and I remember when I was really, really young. I mean, really young, and I may have been even in my crib or something. I remember my mom reading to me from a book and then just tickling me. And it was just such a loving moment that it has stayed with me for all of these decades, both the love of reading, and that physical closeness and demonstration of love.
Emily: Oh my gosh, well I spent so much time with her. I always tell her, first she’s my best friend, and then after she’s my mom. She doesn’t really like to agree with that. But, we spend a lot of time together, and I would say favorite memory’s traveling. We’ve done some cool trips to different parts of the United States. I really liked when we went to New Mexico
or Arizona, and we hike a lot.
Cameron: When I was a lot younger, like 6 or 7, my sister would play volleyball at a park, and while she would do that, I would play soccer with my mom for the whole time. And neither of us were very good at the time, but it was just fun to run around with my mom.
Celina: Honestly, anytime I’ve traveled with her for fencing competitions because we get to just bond after I’m done competing and we get to explore the city. We were in North Carolina and it was our first time there. The city itself was kind of empty, but then we ended up like just walking around and going on the train system there. It was kind of fun. We didn’t really do anything, but it’s just nice to just travel with her.
Kelly: This is so hard because this one person just means so much to you and represents so many different aspects of your life, so how do you come up with just one message? I just gotta go classic. Just love you, mom. Always here for you.
Cameron: My message to my mom would be, I love you a lot, and thanks for everything you do for me.
Celina: Thank you so much for everything. I know it’s been like a rough year raising two kids, and now one of them is going off to college. I really appreciate everything you’ve done.
Emily: I love you!
Barsky: Well I’m tearing up because this is such a wonderful process. I’d probably say, thank you so much, mom, for always being there, for supporting me, and loving me without, without judgment. And really coming to me with an open heart. I love you, mom.
