![“[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)
Honor Council members Naiya Daswani (12) and Linda Zeng (11) opened the school meeting on Wednesday in the Zhang Gymnasium. The meeting excluded frosh as they were in the Patil Theater listening to Class Council speeches.
Naiya and Linda encouraged students to participate in Honor Week, starting on Monday and aiming to promote honor in the community. Activities include writing appreciative cards to friends and faculty and attending social science teacher Carol Green’s speech regarding civic engagement on Tuesday.
Ava Bhowmik (11) and Sylvia Chen (10) announced Science Bowl tryouts in chemistry teacher Mala Raghavan’s room last Friday afternoon. They urged students interested in expanding their STEM knowledge to join the club.
Seniors Sophia Liu and Robert Fields, co-editors-in-chief of Oeconomia’s magazine Equilibrium, announced the release of the Summer 2024 issue, featuring economics articles from finance comics to opinion pieces on student loan payments. Regardless of prior experience with economics, students can submit election-themed pieces to the next issue by Oct. 15.
LatinX Affinity Group officers Laura Bastos (11), Sofia Vasquez-Perez (11) and Natalie Warmdahl (10) spoke about Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. They highlighted lesser-known Hispanic figures like Mexican-American author Rudolfo Anaya and Peruvian sculptor Víctor Delfín and shared a list of LatinX businesses in the local Bay Area for students to support.
Director of Learning, Innovation and Design Diane Main informed students that Mac users must have at least the macOS 12 operating system.
Seniors Keren Eisenberg and Bahar Sodeifi introduced the textbook drive, where students can donate their old or unused textbooks to promote sustainability and recycling in the community. These textbooks will then be available to students to use at the start of the next school year.
Librarian Meredith Cranston presented the new TK-12 Library Director, Connie Poulsen-Hollin. She introduced International Dot Day, a celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration inspired by Canadian author Peter H. Reynolds’ bestselling children’s book “The Dot.” Hollin invited students to celebrate the holiday in the orchard next Thursday during long lunch.
Harker Spirit Leadership Team member Charlotte Ludlow (11) introduced the Athletes of the Week. She commended cross-country runners Samaara Patil (10) and Marc Gouriou (9), who both placed second in the Baylands Invitational. She featured running back Pedro Castro III (10), who scored two touchdowns against Turlock Christian. Finally, Charlotte highlighted senior Norah Mehanna, captain of the varsity girls volleyball team.
Associated Student Body President Sam Parupudi (12) alerted the community to send requests to speak during school meetings to ASB Secretary Jia Jia Jiang (12) exactly two to three days beforehand and concluded the assembly by notifying sophomores of the hot snacks served in Manzanita Hall.
![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)
