![“[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)
From pop culture icons to children’s cartoon characters, students and staff donned elaborate costumes that showed off their creativity and flair. Explore the intricacies of individual, duo and group outfits with Aquila, as students share their processes of planning and executing their ensembles.
Kaitlyn: I’m Kaitlyn Su. I’m in 12th grade, and I’m Embarrassment.
Kashish: I’m Kashish Priyam. I’m also in 12th grade, and I’m Disgust.
Sophia: I’m Sophia Liu. I’m a senior, and I’m Sadness.
Melody: I’m Melody Yin. I’m also a senior, and I’m Anger.
Cindy: I’m Cindy Yu. I’m also a senior, and I’m Joy. So we’re the emotions from Inside Out 2.
Kashish: This is something that’s simple to do, and everyone can do it. I think because we’re seniors, we’re a little busy right now, so we wanted something easy to do.
Kaitlyn: A sweatshirt is literally my daily outfit, so embarrassment really fits.
Cindy: I had everything I’m wearing. So this shirt is my mom’s, the belt’s my mom’s, the jacket’s my mom’s. I got this skirt in middle school, and I don’t remember where. And the tie is from my preschool teacher.
Melody: Where’d you get your earrings from?
Cindy: My mom.
Kashish: I think costumes are more fun when you do them with other people. Because even if, individually, your costume isn’t exact, altogether you can figure out the vibes.
Kaitlyn: Yeah, I agree with Kashish because everyone thinks I’m a pink clown when I’m alone. But when I’m around them,I think they think I’m Embarrassment.
Natalie: Hi, my name is Natalie Warmdahl, and I’m Cinderella.
Pedro: And I’m Pedro Castro III, and I’m Prince Charming.
Natalie: So it was yesterday, and we had a costume, but it wasn’t that good and we knew we could do better. So I went to Spirit Halloween and I went through a bunch of the costume options. And this is what we landed on.
Natalie: I really like my dress. I really like the luminosity of it, like how shiny it is and everything. It looks really pretty in the sun.
Pedro: I would say her dress too. Nothing really about mine is good, but her dress looks amazing.
Natalie: Yours is good. It’s just a jacket.
Sophie: I am Marie Antoinette. Marie was the queen of France, and I’m French. She says, “Let them eat cake,” and I love cake. So, in those ways we agree on a lot of things. The original model, she had different shoes – they were boots. But I felt it was – this is already pretty modern, especially because she wouldn’t be wearing a skirt that’s this short – but I felt like the boots were a little bit too much, so I switched it up to these more dainty, they kind of look like Lolita shoes or whatnot. And yeah, then I just kept with the pink theme and added the pink wig. It’s pretty much it. I wanted something that was extra and pretty.
