![“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)
This week was packed with spirit events as well as inter-class competitions and concluded with the final football event of the season: the Homecoming game.
“[My favorite part of this week was] the impostor Mr. Keller [see below]. The faculty I think has embraced Homecoming week more than they ever have, at least at my time at Harker. It’s just been fun to watch everybody have fun. I know we’re getting work done, but we’re also having fun. [Homecoming] just comes at the perfect time of year,” Butch Keller said.
Throughout the week, students received class spirit points for dressing up according to their class Homecoming theme. This year’s overarching theme was Disney, so freshmen chose Pirates of the Caribbean, sophomores Toy Story, juniors The Lion King, and seniors High School Musical.
On Tuesday, October 30, all four grades debuted the eagles they painted. The sophomores won recognition for the best eagle. Meanwhile, a cup stacking spirit event was held during lunch. Freshmen dominated the first lunch; however, juniors took the lead during the second lunch.
With Halloween on Wednesday, all students were eligible to gain points for their class if they came to school in costumes. Senior Nikhil Panu dressed up as Keller himself. Additionally, the second annual Panoply of Chaos parade was held during long lunch, led by parade coordinator Andrew Irvine. During the parade, students showcased their class floats.
Another Disney-themed rendition of “Name that Tune” was held on Thursday as a spirit event. This time around, the seniors won during the first lunch with sophomores in first during the second lunch.
The spirit-filled week ended on Friday. Each class performed their skit during the rally with performances by the Varsity Dance Troupe, cheerleading team, and Jazz Band. The preliminary rounds of tug of war as well as a Homecoming Court relay race occurred between skits. Preceded by class and alumni tailgate parties, the game started later that evening. Final rounds of tug of war took place before the game and during half-time, resulting in a victory for the seniors. Seniors Maverick McNealy and Akarsha Gulukota were announced as the Homecoming King and Queen during half-time as well. Although the Varsity football team lost 35-49 to Lynbrook High School, they were supported by a cheering crowd throughout the game.
More events to look forward to next week include the start of the winter sport season.
![“Probably the most important thing that I can do is to help raise awareness amongst youth because [students] are the ones that sadly are going to inherit this mess. It’s important for us, the people who helped take the planet to the place it is now, to really lean in and make a difference about this issue," Moss said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC_9315-e1778880890147-1200x873.jpg)
