![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.jpg)
![“[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)
A record number of 45 students attended the Berkeley Math Tournament (BMT), competing against 1,000 other students from across the nation at the University of California, Berkeley on Nov. 2.
Sophomore Neo Liang and frosh Vihaan Gupta placed 7th and 10th respectively in the Geometry Focus Round. In total, Harker students earned 70 distinguished honorable mentions and honorable mentions, awarded to the top 20% and 50%, respectively.
Math teacher Anu Aiyer won the $500 blackpenredpen Mentor Appreciation Scholarship. Prior to the contest, BMT teams filled out forms nominating their coaches.
Students first took the Power Round, a collaborative, proof-based test designed to promote advanced math topics. Each year, the Power Round follows a specific theme and guides competitors through a series of intermediate steps that culminate in theorems or other advanced results.
“We hope to introduce new ways of mathematical thinking and problem solving to BMT participants,” BMT organizer Nathan Wong said. “We have a great opportunity in the Power Round to showcase mathematical rigor in niche or unexpected places.”
For the individual round, participants took either a general mathematics test or two of the algebra, geometry, calculus and discrete math exams.
“We got to choose the individual rounds we participate in to fit our strengths,” sophomore competitor Elaine Xu said. “In between the two individual rounds, we got to discuss the problems with people in our room. It was interesting talking to random people, because even if I didn’t know someone’s name, we could talk about how we sillied so many problems — it was a bonding experience.”
In the final round, students competed in the team-based Guts Round consisting of a fast-paced series of problem sets that exposed students to a wide variety of topics and difficulty levels.
“It’s less of a direct competition and more of a team bonding experience where you can really feel the love and care of the Harker community,” Math Club Director of Competitions and Curriculum Aarush Vailaya (12) said. “Now that I’m a senior, I get to teach and show the underclassmen how to attend contests like this and do math as a team.”
BMT offered optional activities like estimathon, a team estimation contest, and integration bee, a calculus-based variation of a spelling bee.
Awards were given for each individual exam and team performance. In team rankings, the Power Round is weighted 30%, the Guts Round 30% and the Individual Round 40%, with the specialized exams worth double the points of the general exam.
“Math competitions like BMT help you collaborate more with other like-minded people,” Palo Alto High School contestant Krittika Chandra said. “They help you meet other people with similar interests and reconnect with friends that you might have met earlier at other math events.”
