![“[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)
Class of 2029 kicked off their high school experience at the annual field day on the upper school campus on Thursday.
Students met their new advisers and advisory groups for the first time in the Auxiliary Gym. Senior Link Crew representatives joined each group and led campus tours before everyone gathered on Davis Field for physical team-building activities hosted by Apex Adventures.
Frosh Keji Yuan praised the event for helping to facilitate connections, especially for students like him new to Harker.
“The Harker campus was great, and the community is even better because everyone was really inclusive,” Keji said. “Us new students molded into the community very well. Even though there may be old friends that some people might have here, everyone still felt very open and made new friends. I really appreciated and loved that.”
Advisory groups rotated through six activities, including a silent card-sorting competition between advisories and a challenge where students brought a fellow advisee standing on an A-frame to a finish line and back.
Link Crew representatives helped frosh navigate the campus while also supporting advisers new to Harker.
Jackson Ryan (9) high fives adviser Eric Johnson after their advisory successfully completed the memory grid challenge. The task required teammates to guide one person across a grid step-by-step, using only memory from previous attempts. (Tiffany Zhu)
“It’s really exciting being the first people to introduce the new frosh onto the campus,” Link Crew member Sofia Shah (12) said. “I remember being in their position a few years ago, so I hope I can help ease them into the transition.”
Marking the first time that the entire frosh class gathers on campus, the field day is an annual tradition designed to unite the students and welcome them to the upper school.
Frosh Julia Ho shared her hopes for the school year ahead.
“Right now, even if we knew each other before, we still are a bit like strangers,” Julia said. “The activities helped us get closer, and I also hope we can all be closer by the end of the year.”
