![“[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)
TEDxHarkerSchool hosted its annual event with three talks and a variety of entrepreneurial booths in the RPAC on Friday.
Entrepreneur and music artist Mike Wallz, fashion influencer Drew Joiner and senior Savya Agarwal gave speeches under the event’s theme of “unfiltered.”
Wallz highlighted the value of following one’s aspirations and outlined his life’s trajectory from triumph to misfortune when an injury ended his Division 1 athletic career. He found a new career by exploring music creation, becoming an artist and creative director.
“This ambition, this dream and this goal that I had, was taken away from me in a second,” Wallz said. “I had been seeing this passion this whole time and by the time my football career got taken away, I had something to fall back on. This really sad thing just turned into an amazing opportunity in that moment.”
Joiner, a fashion content creator with a following of over 850,000 across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, identified authenticity as a key trait to achieving his platform. He emphasized the words “be yourself” throughout his speech and explained that they were an impetus to helping him appeal to a large audience on social media.
“I’ve noticed a lot of the greats, whether they are in technology or business or art, ask themselves, ‘why me?’” Joiner said. “My answer is because they were willing to unapologetically be themselves. They didn’t let the people who make fun of them stop them from doing what they loved.”
Savya explained how shame feeds insecurity, even in highly competent people like award-winning authors. He discussed imposter syndrome and the gap between confidence and skill, ending his speech by proposing a remedy for unsubstantiated insecurity.
“You have to do little things that take you past your comfort zone, regardless if you feel ready for them or not,” Savya said. “They can range from speaking up in a meeting for the first time, to joining a new club or even signing up for a TED talk. It’s these little steps that compound into giant leaps.”
Nine booths showcased their products in the RPAC lobby and Donor Plaza prior to the speeches — four from Harker’s Business Incubator: TEJA, Shlurp Ramen, Wrap It Recovery and Curlosophy, and five from outside companies: Critter Colony Club, BioEra, MicheleDraws, SmartGolf and BallyBots.
Founders of Wrap It Recovery Rushil Jaiswal (12), Sahil Varma (12) and Sara Glusman (12) presented their compression sleeve product to event attendees. The product incorporates ice packs that users can flip in, shake down and put on again.
“Our product makes it a lot more convenient if you’re going from a sports game to your home,” Rushil said. “This event will hopefully let us get some more outreach with Harker students and actual businesses.”
TEDxHarkerSchool chose booths and speakers by using a selection and outreach process that began in the summer. The club’s marketing associate Abby Sachse (10) hopes that this event provided learning experiences for attendees.
“Our goal is to introduce new perspectives to Harker students, especially this year, with our theme being ‘unfiltered,’” Abby said. “Something that gets people outside of the Harker bubble and outside of the things that they hear every day.”
