![“[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)
PALO ALTO, Calif. – 41 Harker journalism staff members, Director of Journalism Whitney Huang and TALON Yearbook Adviser Kevin Oliver participated in the 11th JEA NorCal Media Day at Palo Alto High School today.
Students and faculty from across the Bay Area attended speaker sessions and 79 workshops throughout the day, learning about different aspects of journalism and meeting staff members from accomplished publications. Topics ranged from local election coverage and student media law to creating meaningful design.
“I enjoyed seeing the presentations from speakers and students from other schools,” reporter and first-time attendee Heather Wang (10) said. “It was nice to see journalism outside of Harker, and I liked how the people here really love journalism and have so much to offer. They are also so curious to learn about how to improve as journalists.”
Harker students presented at four sessions: “Snap Better Photos” by Aquila photo editors, “Bringing Smiles to your Staff” by Aquila section editors, “Let’s Talk!” by Aquila, Winged Post, and TALON editors-in-chief and “Humans of [Your School]” by Humans of Harker members.
“It was really cool getting to see Ram [Batchu] and Kairui [Sun]’s photography, and I thought it was inspiring,” multimedia editor and attendee Charlie Wang (11) said. “My biggest takeaway from their session that they taught was to keep the framing of photos in mind when photographing.”
Various professional publications and media centers hosted booths that provided students the opportunity to network. JEA NorCal board member Kristy Blackburn spoke about the importance of building connections within the journalistic community.
“The most important part of JEA is journalism students getting a chance to engage with other journalism students,” Blackburn said. “There are so many cool things happening, but all of them are happening isolated on campuses, so this is a chance for them to share knowledge and get a chance to learn from other people.”
Students attended two sessions of their choice in both the morning and afternoon. During lunch, attendees ate pizza while enjoying music from the Gunn High School’s Jazz Band.
“It’s important to have this opportunity to gather together as a team and bond with other staff members,” Winged Post managing editor and second-time attendee Claire Zhao (12) said. “You don’t get this in daily school life, so it’s special to have this time outside of school to do that.”
