![“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)
Spirit Week is underway! Don’t know much about Spirit? Curious about how to win points?
Listen to Mirabelle Feng (12), Robert Fields (12), Leo Sobczyn (12), Leana Zhou (11), Ava Bhowmik (11), Ava Alvarez (10), Hannah Jiang (10) and Cam Jones (10) share their tips and past experiences.
What does spirit mean to you?
Robert: Spirit, to me, means making memories with people at the school and trying to build a community around something as simple as doing a dance or painting an eagle and just connecting with as many people as possible.
Ava A.: I love how it just brings people together. It’s just a time to be happy and be proud of your school, of yourself and your grade.
What is your favorite part of spirit?
Leana: I think my favorite part of spirit is just seeing all your work accumulated into one thing.
Robert: Seeing people who initially don’t like being involved in spirit at all, and come into Harker thinking spirit’s a waste of time or something they don’t want to get involved in and then at the rally or something, seeing them smile or sharing with their friends, because you can sort of see how you change someone’s mind through the hard work you put in and the ability to change their high school experience.
Dressing Up
Ava A.: Even though it feels really embarrassing, or it feels like ‘Oh, no one else is going to dress up,’ there will always be someone dressing up, and you’ll probably be the odd one out if you don’t dress up.
Cam: It’s kind of fun. It’s a way to break from the regular school routine. Last year we had a tie dye day where you could either wear tie dye clothes or a tie, and I wore three ties. If you just have one shirt that matches the theme, just wear it. There’s no harm in doing that.
Spirit Dance
Hannah: Spirit dance is a three to four minute dance that we perform during the Spirit rally. We first have to pick music that’s according to the theme, and the theme is just given to us every year, and it’s always different. We also decide what kind of style we want to go for, which is usually a mix of hip-hop and jazz. A lot of people who will be absent during rehearsals and hopefully coordinating, times where everyone was able to come, especially for blocking in the gym. That’s probably the hardest part. It’s just really fun to dance with the people in the same grade.
Tug of War
Leo: We got second our freshman year, and then we’ve won the other two years. We really emphasize teamwork. Mr. Hurshman really emphasizes moving as a group and because of that, we’ve just been undefeated and worked really well together. Just give it all your might, and everyone’s pulling, just like you, so just pull and we’ll win.
Eagle Painting
Mirabelle: We try to hit the basis of what we consider to be the more iconic parts of Disney. I think it really helps to thumbnail the sides of the eagle before you actually start painting onto the eagle itself. Getting the people with more specialized skills to do the sides they need to do while trying to make make sure everyone participates is something that’s a little bit tricky.
Ava B.: We go a little above and beyond. We don’t just include scenes from different movies. For example, we’ll also do crossovers. The classes are doing a really good job, and maybe what stands out on our eagle is the friends we made along the way.
Harker Spirit Leadership Team
Robert: I decided to join because freshman year, I thought it looked really cool to run the events, and I had a lot of fun at things like the Spirit Dance and the Regatta.
Leana: I think you’re slowly working on these little projects, but then once you get to see all your fruits being born, it’s really fulfilling and you also get that little bit of pride from like, ‘You made something. You did something for your school. You did something for your class.’
Robert: The community was really great. I think everyone who signs up for it really does want to make a change in the community, and they are very outgoing and generous people. Even if you’re a committee member in your first year, you still have the ability to make a difference and plan your own event. I think my favorite event to plan was last year’s spring rally, and at the end, it was really great to see that even though there were stressful things happening during the rally from our side, everyone was really involved. People were cheering for each other’s classes, and it was just –to see the full manifestation of classes supporting each other and everyone enjoying as a school– was really great to see.
Why should people participate in spirit?
Leo: A lot of people are really encouraging there. They’re really nice. It’s just really fun to be around.
Leana: You don’t have to dedicate hours and hours and hours into it. You just get to throw in whatever you have from your closet and get to contribute that way.
![“Probably the most important thing that I can do is to help raise awareness amongst youth because [students] are the ones that sadly are going to inherit this mess. It’s important for us, the people who helped take the planet to the place it is now, to really lean in and make a difference about this issue," Moss said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC_9315-e1778880890147-1200x873.jpg)
