![“[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)
Harker Spirit Leadership Team held the annual Spirit Kickoff last Friday afternoon in the Quad.
The event’s “Wild West” theme encouraged students and faculty to arrive dressed in denim, bandanas and cowboy boots. HSLT featured a variety of food items, including root beer floats, popcorn and cornbread muffins, along with carnival games like ring toss, an estimation jar and a ball pit where participants raced to find the hidden golden ball.
Attendees could also fling water-soaked sponges at Associated Student Body officers and faculty members like chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine and Class of 2026 dean Meredith Cranston. At another station, students attempted to avoid falling off the mechanical bull ride, for which sophomore Stellan Lindh achieved the longest time of 45.15 seconds.
“The mechanical bull was pretty fun because you were moving around a lot, and you had people cheering for you,” attendee Ethan Leelanivas (11) said. “It was fun to see everyone hoping to beat the record.”
Raffle tickets could be earned in various ways, with students checking in during lunch for wearing Wild West-themed clothing to winning games like the scavenger hunt or the ball pit. Director of Student Organizations Eric Kallbrier announced raffle winners periodically and allowed them to spin a wheel containing prizes that included candy, a front-of-the-line lunch pass and a chance to choose Head of Upper School Paul Barsky’s wardrobe for a day.
“There’s a lot of fun activities around here, and there’s a lot of places where you can win prizes and it’s not really too competitive,” attendee Eva Petrova (9) said. “The raffle that I earned through the scavenger hunt [was my favorite] because I won a bunch of candy.”
Spirit Kickoff, the first major spirit event of the year, also marked a beginning for Flight Crew, a new branch of HSLT that offers opportunities to volunteer for spirit with fewer obligations. Flight Crew originated as the athletic committee on HSLT but merged with Spirit Club this year to broaden its scope to events like Homecoming and spirit rallies.
Members of Flight Crew organized a game of “Pin the Number on the Jersey,” a variation of the classic carnival game with an athletic spin. Volunteers took on shifts, from setting up the games to assembling root beer floats.
“We had a huge line of people at the beginning, and it took a while for us to get on our feet, but once we got a rhythm going with everyone involved in an assembly line, it was really fun,” co-Flight Crew coordinator Ameera Ramzan (10) said. “We saw people come up, smile, take a root beer, and you could see them eating it later on, which makes you feel good because you made it.”
![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.jpg)
