![“[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)
Students gathered for the semiannual Spirit Night, added finishing touches to their class banners, enjoyed curly fries and participated in karaoke in Manzanita Hall on Friday.
The classes designed the banners with their respective assigned board game themes. Seniors embellished their banner with Monopoly-themed items like game pieces and Mr. Monopoly. Juniors transformed their banner into a Clue board. Sophomores designed a Jumanji-themed banner, complete with tropical leaves and their class mascot, a yellow duck named Pluh. Frosh painted a colorful Candyland fantasy centered around their class mascot, an astronaut.
Sophomore Hannah Jiang affirmed the community-oriented undercurrent of the event.
“We have a lot of artists, and they paint the banners for fun,” Hannah said. “For Eagle painting, we have little to no time, and then at the end, everyone works together frantically, and it’s a bonding time under all this duress.”
Students flocked to Chef’s Grill in Manzanita Hall for curly fries with a wide selection of toppings like nacho cheese to bacon bits for “Curly Fry-Day.” ASB Students Events Committee member Amishi Gupta (11) highlighted how food ties together communities.
“It was intentional for us to put Fryday during Spirit Night because we wanted to make sure there was some incentive for people to stay for the long hours,” Amishi said. “Creating one congregated place where people can get food, talk in Manzanita and paint outside on their posters creates a nice bonding experience.”
Students participated in a karaoke booth near the entrance of Manzanita. HSLT president Yasmin Sudarsanam (12) emphasized the unity that the events of Spirit Night brought to the school community.
“It’s easy to get sucked into the competitiveness and the academics and the stress,” Yasmin said. “Spirit gives us an opportunity to go beyond competitiveness and collaborate to get to know each other as humans. It’s a great way to get loose, and to get some friendly competition between the grades.”
Spring Spirit Week, featuring Jersey Day, Boomer Day, Rhyme without Reason, Class Themes Day, Class T-Shirt Day and the Spirit Rally, begins next week, March 24-28.
