![“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)
The annual pumpkin carving event, held during long lunch yesterday, segued students into Homecoming Week with a creative yet competitive event. The seniors placed first, followed by the juniors, freshmen, and sophomores.
In honor of Halloween, the Spirit Club organized this particular event as a chance for classes to garner spirit points that will add to the overall scores from the Homecoming Rally next week.
“It’s always fun to see what the classes can come up with [and it] sets the mood for class competitions,” Spirit Club President Andre Tran (12) said.
Classes each had one hour to carve their respective pumpkins into any design they wished.
“[Even though] at first no one was here, […] it was fun and interesting and a little gross cleaning up,” first-time participant Helena Dworak (9) said.
The Class of 2013 and 2014 prepared for the event, in advance, bringing their own supplies such as paint and other mini pumpkins to add flare and creativity to their carvings.
“Usually we just come to the day and improvise, but today we had a plan and a lot of people got into it who usually wouldn’t,” participant Sierra Lincoln (12) said.
With the junior class amassing a larger than normal carving crew, Junior Spirit Coordinator Kenny Zhang takes pride in their final result.
“This year, we used more creativity instead of a simple jack-o-lantern,” he said. “We expanded our boundaries and used [props to heighten our design].”
Coordinating with their Homecoming theme “The Lion King,” the juniors created a lion eating three mini pumpkins that represent the three other classes, using inner pumpkin shavings as the mane. Similarly, the freshmen illustrated their theme by making a pirate with an aluminum sword for “Pirates of the Caribbean”. Contrary to them, the sophomores and seniors deviated from their themes, crafting a pumpkin carriage with Cinderella shaped on the side and carving a worm coming out of a cracked apple, respectively.
With Homecoming week just around the corner, spirit competitions like yesterday’s event will be offered during lunches for classes to earn more points in hopes of winning first overall next week.
