![“[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)
Math Club hosted its first student lecture of the year, where senior Aarush Vailaya discussed his research on chromatic symmetric functions in math teacher Anu Aiyer’s room on Oct. 3.
Aarush first introduced club members to the concept of “coloring” in algebraic graph theory, which involves assigning different colors to the vertices of a graph. He presented two functions used to color graphs: the chromatic polynomial and the chromatic symmetric function, both of which he researched at the MIT PRIMES program this year.
“I want people to know that math research is totally doable for a high schooler,” Aarush said. “The idea is sometimes we just like exploring these more convoluted, complicated subjects: that’s what the flavor of non-high school math is. Not all math is a problem and a numerical solution.”
After discussing the technical aspects of his research, Aarush urged members to apply to math research programs outside of school and to pursue math research throughout the school year.
“I had no previous knowledge of these math research programs,” attendee Axel Szolusha (10) said. “It seems like a cool niche that’s very interesting. Although it sounds like a big time commitment for me, it’ll be something interesting to look into in the future.”
Math Club plans to continue offering student-led lectures, among other events and activities, to explore niche monthly mathematical topics.
“Each month we’ll have a different theme,” Director of Events Anika Rajaram (11) said. “So our lectures, games, and Problems of the Week are all relevant to the theme. This month our theme is graph theory and I thought Aarush’s unique lecture clearly explained the topic to our members who had not studied graphs before.”
Beyond lectures, Math Club members can also participate in math competitions. Each year, the Harker Math Team places high in nationwide rankings in AreteLabs, emerging as the champions, and also making deep playoff runs in the AreteLabs Math Madness competition.
Officers plan on leading preparation sessions to help students tune their skills before the AMC 10 and 12 on Nov. 6.
