![“[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)
Homecoming asks often follow a centric theme – the element of surprise. Many Upper School students chose to ask their Homecoming dates this year in unexpected if not novel ways.
Sophomore Ashir Bansal asked date Sarah Bean (10) with an elaborate idea, placing a balloon inside of her locker labelled “Pop Me!”. Inside of the balloon was a note asking her to come outside to the quad. Once outside, his friends ushered her to the benches where she discovered the letters “HC?” spelled out in rose petals as well as Ashir, who was hidden behind a bush.
“I wanted to ask in a different way because I feel like if you’re going to ask, you should do it well and make it something memorable. Plus, there’s a higher chance of the girl saying yes,” Ashir said.
Junior Nathan Dhablania surprised Mitty student Varunika Raja outside Shah Hall holding a poster with words spelled out in candy bar wrappers. Nathan asked for his friends’ assistance to make the poster and lead her out to the patio.
“When you do things like make posters and give flowers, it shows that you care about the girl and that you’re excited and interested in going with her,” he said.
Seniors Deniz Celik and Kathir Sundarraj teamed up to ask their girlfriends, Amy Gendotti (12) and Shreya Vemuri (12). The boys collaboratively wrote a poem and gave one half of the poem to each girl. Both girls had to find one another and eventually located their boyfriends waiting with stuffed animals and candy.
“I was totally surprised [when they asked]. In my opinion, I think both simple and elaborate [ways of asking] can be great depending on the person you are asking, but I really like elaborate askings because they demonstrate a lot of consideration and effort. But simple can definitely be cute too,” Amy said.
Senior Nikhil Panu performed a rendition of “How Deep Is Your Love” by the Bee Gees to ask Apricot Tang (12). During the song, he enlisted the help of sophomores Justin Yen, Dylan Patel, Srivinay Irrinki, and Nick Nguyen to be backup dancers and to hold up the letters “HC?”.
“I think it was a really original and memorable way of asking someone to Homecoming. I’m sure [Apricot] felt really nice that [Nikhil] put so much effort into it. You only get one opportunity to make a girl feel special, and it doesn’t come very often,” Justin said.
The Disney-themed Homecoming dance will be held Saturday, November 3.
