![“[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)
Juniors met their fourth grader eagle buddies to watch a circus performance in the Zhang Gymnasium, while seniors watched the fifth graders’ musical “Joust” at Bucknall on Jan. 31.
As part of the program’s Clown Day students watched the People’s Circus Theatre’s balance boarding, acrobatics and club juggling acts. After the performance, the clowns taught students circus tricks like balancing feathers, juggling scarves and face painting. The People’s Circus Theatre has performed for the Eagle Buddy program for over a decade.
Opening clown Annie Fraser reflected on both her performance and interactions with students afterwards.
“Having such a welcoming response from the staff and the students has been really nice,” Fraser said. “I love seeing how engaged and willing all the students are to try out new things and have fun with the circus skills. It was super fun because the kids are so smart that they were teaching themselves and we could just watch.”
Junior Danika Gupta bonded and talked with her eagle buddies at each of the circus-themed stations.
“They had fun with every single activity, especially face painting,” Danika said. “In the future, I would be excited for more instruction-based activities because that would definitely help us connect as a group more.”
Seniors saw the musical “Joust” which retold the legend of King Arthur with the twist of boomwhackers replacing swords. After the performance, eagle families bonded over their favorite moments, which happened to be the same show that the seniors staged 6 years ago.
Director of Student Organizations Eric Kallbrier emphasized throughout the day that the event was organized around the principle of “spreading joy,” and students should be open to try all the activities.
“Seeing the Eagle Buddies program and the little kids that I used to work with become the elder Eagle Buddies is just really heartwarming,” Brianna Alday, administrative assistant to the Assistant Head of School for Student Affairs, said. “It creates a sense of community, and I liked seeing the students being able to try new things that you wouldn’t usually be doing like balancing a feather.”
