![“[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)
This is Aquila Weekly Wrap Up, where we bring you the latest updates from around our school community.
Monday
Eight students visited Oracle Park, the home stadium of the San Francisco Giants, to learn about the world of sports business for a CareerConnect field trip. CareerConnect plans to offer a variety of field trips to companies and conferences throughout the year, open to all students.
Thursday
LIFE Board hosted a kick-ball game for students and staff on Davis Field during lunch in celebration of exercise month. The game featured teams with students from all grade levels and teachers.
Oeconomia, Harker’s Economics Society, hosted a speaker event with Stanford Hoover Institute research fellow Oliver Giesecke. He gave a presentation on state and local government finances.
CareerConnect invited Chief Operating Officer of I Got Games Kevin Xu to speak to attendees about his experience in the gaming industry for the club’s C-Sweet series, where students learn from various successful entrepreneurs while snacking on sweets.
During Amnesty Club’s meeting, club members wrote letters to incarcerated government-silenced individuals and organizations to honor National Banned Books Week.
History Club held a meeting to discuss the upcoming National History Day Contest, where students submit history research projects in March, and other research activities.
Programming Club hosted its first prep session for the upcoming USA Computing Olympiad competitions, an annual coding contest. Students split into groups to discuss strategies for their respective competition divisions: bronze, silver, gold or platinum.
Civil Discourse Club held their first meeting of the year, where attendees discussed world issues like the Israel-Hamas war.
Additional reporting by Eva Cheng, Lily Peng and Cynthia Xie.
