![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.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)
Choral groups united for the annual fall concert, with this year themed “Songs of the Earth,” on Nov. 14.
Find the video’s transcript below:
Vocal music teacher Susan Nace: Tonight is all about honoring the earth and all its inhabitants. Our students’ work is exploring through music the beauty of the land and the sea that nourish us, the healing power of nature, the wisdom of being present and even the laughter we share in the times of both fear and joy.
Suhani (Voiceover): Choral groups performed at this year’s fall choral concert, which encompassed the theme of “Songs of the Earth.” Performing groups included Dolce Voce, consisting of soprano and alto singers, Rhapsody, the tenor and bass choir, and Capriccio, a choir open to all voice types. Dolce Voce and Rhapsody also performed together in their joint choir, Festival Chorus.
Frosh Rhapsody and Festival Chorus bass Matthew Deng: I like how everyone is just together, working together. Sometimes, we’re not focused, but most of the time, we’re working diligently on getting our pieces ready for the performance. In class, we’ll break down each piece and work through all of the trouble spots as my dad would call them.
Senior Capriccio bass Harrison Chen: During normal rehearsal time, when Ms. Nace first brought out the puppets for our last song, we all were play fighting with them, and it was really fun. People were putting on little Muppet Show kind of scenes.
Junior Capriccio leader and alto Carissa Wu: I was just there to kind of make sure everyone was keeping on track because like our schedule for the concert was kind of tight. So I was just making sure that everyone has their music done, has it memorized, has it learned. I feel like as the leader I have more of a responsibility to make sure everyone has their part known. Last year, I was kind of focusing on myself and just making sure that I had everything done, but now I’m focusing on the entire group.
Suhani: Alongside the choral groups, four vocal certificate students gave solos during the concert.
Junior soloist Taylor Summers: Me being part of the certificate program, I have a voice teacher, so I worked on my solo really hard with my voice teacher so that I could get it up to par with the performance, and I could get it sounding really good.
Matthew: I’ve been in choir since fourth grade and I’ve really enjoyed singing with
the great community. It’s really just a fun and spectacular experience.
