![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.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)
Classes of 2027 and 2028 embarked on class trips to Angel Island and Santa Cruz Mountain ropes courses on Aug. 21 to open the 2025-26 school year.
Juniors headed to the San Francisco Ferry Terminal before ferrying to Angel Island, where they divided into two cohorts of 12 advisories each. Students in the first cohort chose between hiking up Mount Livermore for views of the San Francisco skyline and Golden Gate Bridge or kayaking in Ayala Cove.
“My favorite part of the Angel Island trip was when we had time on the beach, because we not only kayaked, but we also were able to swim and play football and volleyball,” junior Kai Nishimura said. “I had a really good time because we got to intermingle with other advisories and not just our own.”
The second cohort completed an advisory-based team photo scavenger hunt across Angel Island. Teams took photos in front of historical sites, posed for group shots and answered trivia questions about Harker history, fulfilling requirements through the GooseChase app.
Junior class adviser Pam Dickinson appreciated how riding the ferry also enhanced the bonding experience.
“Being on the beautiful ferry from San Francisco to Angel Island and back was an additional component to the things we actually did on the island,” Dickinson said. “Riding away from the city and looking back at the San Francisco skyline — it doesn’t get much better than that.”
Sophomores traveled to three different ropes course venues in the Santa Cruz Mountains. At the sites, students participated in team-building exercises, including partner trust falls and tightrope walking as an advisory.
Sophomore Aashi Jain participated in the Synergy Learning Systems rope course, and she highlighted the giant ladder challenge, which featured steps that grew progressively farther apart at higher levels.
“First, I was in the belay team, and we had to be alert to quickly get into the break position to prevent our teammate from falling,” Aashi said. “When I started climbing the ladder, I was scared, and I was ready to ask to be lowered down already. But then my teammates encouraged me to continue going, and I was really happy that I did because we actually got pretty far along the ladder.”
Sophomore Miley Liu valued the time spent reconnecting with her advisory on the trip.
“Seeing everyone again was fun,” Miley said. “There was this one ropes course where everyone was falling toward the end, but it was funny because we were all just laughing together. It was a good teamwork activity, especially being just with our advisory.”
Junior class dean Brian Larsen coordinated with Absolute Adventures to plan the Angel Island trip, with the specific goal of building relationships among students.
“The activities of doing the photo hunt and then spending some time in the water or going for a hike; it was a nice collection of things,” Larsen said. “More importantly than how well organized it was, the class seemed to really have fun today. I saw people and advisers bonding together, and the whole class thought it was a good time.”
