![“[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)
Friendship carried the third day of Homecoming week as students and faculty matched outfits and competed in the “Newlyfriend Game.”
Harker Spirit Leadership Team hosted Harker’s very first Newlyfriend Game, a spin-off of “The Newlywed Game” show, during lunch. Pairs competed based on how well they knew each other with questions like “Who is your partner’s favorite music artist?” and “What reason would your partner give for being late?”
History teachers Jonathan Rim and James Tate challenged math teachers Anu Aiyer and Anthony Silk in the first round. Rim and Tate took an early 3-1 lead, but Aiyer and Silk bounced back and tied the score 3-3.
“For the one question about my friend’s favorite activity, I put theater and cooking and then I had to pick one,” Aiyer said. “Always go with your first choice — lesson learned.”
Juniors Angelina Antony and Disha Gupta, seniors Sanaa Bhorkar and Yasmin Sudarsanam and frosh Amber Wee and Lily Ahluwalia won the student rounds in that order. They received six Homecoming raffle tickets which could win line passes for the photo booth or song choice guarantees.
Students “twinned” with their friends or teachers by donning matching outfits. Some twins coordinated colors while others were identical from their hats to their shoes. Pairs who checked in with HSLT earned spirit points for their classes.
Seniors Juliana Li and Ainslie Chen wore matching pastel blue tops and dark blue shorts from activewear brand Halara. When the two were at a sleepover, Ainslie complimented Juliana’s shorts and later bought the same pair herself.
“Fifty percent of our closets are involuntarily the same clothes, so it didn’t really take very long for us to figure out what to wear,” Ainslie said. “We naturally decided to do Twin Day because it’s like killing two birds with one stone. We’re dressing up nicely and we get spirit points.”
Frosh Michael Petrov matched his outfit with his twin sister, frosh Eva Petrova.
“It was easy [to match] because I have a twin sister,” Michael said. “Matching represents community because it makes you find somebody to match with and allows people to be more social.”
Additional reporting by Cynthia Xie.
