![“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)
Eleventh graders kayaked and hiked at Angel Island while tenth graders tackled ropes courses in the Santa Cruz mountains for their annual class trips last Thursday.
The juniors began the day at 6:45 a.m, taking a two-hour bus and ferry ride to Angel Island. Once there, they split into two groups: one kayaking in Ayala Cove or hiking to Mount Livermore with rangers, and the other participating in a photo scavenger hunt across the island.
Junior Daniel Miao chose to hike as he hoped to view the island’s landscape and landmarks across the San Francisco Bay.
“There were really good views on the hike,” Daniel said. “From the top we could see the Salesforce building, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Academy of Fine Arts. The tour guides were really nice and they pointed out all the buildings.”
The scavenger hunt participants completed various challenges and uploaded pictures for points over a one-hour period. Prompts included taking photos at specific destinations around the island and answering questions about Harker’s history. After a lunch break, the two groups swapped activities.
Junior advisor Kelly Leahy-McKeown appreciated the novelty of the photo scavenger hunt.
“We had to put ideas out there, accept each other’s ideas and do crazy things, which I think brings a group closer,” Leahy-McKeown said. “Without that bonding experience, we would need to spend several weeks to get as close as those few hours gave us.”
Junior class council announced the winners of the scavenger hunt during junior orientation Friday. The advisories of vocal music teacher Jennifer Sandusky, business and entrepreneurship teacher Samuel Lepler and economics teacher Dean Lizardo took first, second and third place respectively, winning prizes like free library books, front-of-the-line lunch passes and donuts.
Meanwhile, sophomores met at 7:30 a.m. at the upper school campus before splitting into groups and taking buses to three separate ropes course locations. Students then participated in a variety of team-building activities with their advisories that challenged their physical abilities and fostered collaboration.
In one activity, students swung from ropes to try to land on the same platform. In another, they worked together to guide a ball into a bucket using pipes.
Students were also equipped with harnesses and helmets to tackle high ropes course challenges. These included climbing a ladder with wooden planks spaced several feet apart and walking on ropes suspended in the air while holding on to each other for balance. Fellow advisory members cheered from below.
Sophomore Annabel Huang found the trust exercises on the high ropes course to be most memorable.
“It was super fun to go on the ropes course because I had never done something like that before,” Annabel said. “I was able to bond more with my advisory by spending the whole day with them and doing so many collaborative activities that required us to trust each other.”
