![“[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)
View the full transcript here:
So my dad, he got me an RC remote control model airplane as a birthday gift. And I flew that around all the time whenever we went to a small park. I just fell in love with aviation. This once again just reassured me like this is what I want to achieve one day; I really want to be a pilot.
So I joined the group or the chapter that hosted this, it was called the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 20. The mentors saw that I was pretty dedicated. I was coming in almost every weekend to come and build part of the tail, and they’re like, “Hey, you seem like a really dedicated person. Why don’t you apply for the scholarship? It’ll actually get you into flight training.” So I gave it a shot, I applied, I got all the recommendations and everything, and soon enough, I was in the air flight training.
One major challenge was staying motivated. People think that you have this really great passion and then you’ll go after it every day, but it’s hard when you realize the amount of work that it takes. And I think what kept me motivated the most was the community I talked it through with some of the mentors there, like “Hey, you know, I’m really grateful for this opportunity. You guys gave me this scholarship, but it’s a struggle with school, with family, and a bunch of other extracurriculars. It’s a struggle to stay motivated for this, for this hobby.” And they told me that each and every one of them went through the same doubtful phase, that they weren’t sure that they could make it. But they’re always like “Hey, look at the bigger picture, look in the long run. Once you get your license, it’s going to be rewarding. It’s going to be the most rewarding thing you’ve ever gotten. All the hard work is going to pay off. Don’t worry about it.” So little things like that from the community just really helped me stick through it and they were right. It’s been really rewarding.
This isn’t really related to aviation but just in general it’s getting 1% better every day. Try to be the best person you can every day. It’s because math is exponential. Right? So it’s compounded. If you get 1% better every day, over 365 days, you’re winning in life. So don’t really dwell on things in the past. See if you can be a better person than you were yesterday and that’s what I try to do.
