![“[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)
On October 19, the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology recognized 10 students from the Upper School for their research projects, six as semifinalists and four as regional finalists.
The regional finalists were junior Zareen Choudhury and seniors Ashvin Swaminathan, Paulomi Bhattacharya, and Rohan Chandra. Semifinalists consisted of Andrew Luo (12), Kevin Susai (12), Ravi Tadinada (12), Anika Gupta (11), Saachi Jain (11), and Andrew Zhang (10).
Students entered either individual or team research projects, some of which were completed over summer through internships or programs.
“It is important to recognize not just the winners but to acknowledge a lot of the other participants who put a lot of hours into their papers and research,” Zareen said. “Overall, what I took away from this was not the awards or recognition, but the experience I had over the summer. I thought it was a rewarding experience to work directly with professors in a professional lab environment and to do some hands-on research.”
This year, a total of 24 Upper School students entered the competition, and chemistry teacher Dr. Mala Raghavan helped coordinate the research paper submissions by going over procedures with students and reminding them of deadlines.
“There is a whole process that goes into the competition, and it begins with the opportunities that the science department provides for the students,” Dr. Raghavan said. “A lot of teachers help with looking over papers, and my job is just to make them aware of deadlines even though I look over papers too. It is the whole process of being aware and the help and opportunities that they get that makes it so successful.”
Students often received help not only from faculty members but also from the mentor of their projects.
“I’m really happy about having my project recognized by the Siemens organization, but it would not have been possible without the constant support of my awesome mentor Raja Guhathakurta,” Andrew said. “We would have discussions about Andromeda’s ionized gas whenever we had free time, and he really went above and beyond to make time for the [Science Internship Program] students, staying up late into the night to ensure that we succeeded in our research endeavors.”
The next step for the four finalists is traveling to California Institute of Technology to go through media training, present a poster session and an oral presentation, and answer questions from a panel of Caltech professors.
“Presenting at the next round is a tremendous honor, and the prospect of sharing my work with the broader scientific community at one of the nation’s most prestigious universities is a humbling thought,” Paulomi said. “Remembering the incredible opportunity of last year’s regional finals, I’m looking forward to another rewarding experience, surrounded by students and experts alike who are just as excited about scientific discovery as I am.”
Each of the regional finalists was awarded $1,000 for their achievements. The four finalists will leave for Caltech on November 9, and if they are named regional winners at Caltech, they will travel to compete against other regional winners in the national finals.
![Humans of Harker Editor-in-Chief Disha Gupta presents the “Humans of [Your School] workshop. Presenters highlighted HoH project’s mission and went over the process of building a senior’s profile.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/DSC_0802-1200x799.jpg)
