![“[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)
After a week of Disney costumes, skits, and car-bashing, Spirit Club President Andre Tran (12) announced the results of Homecoming at today’s school meeting. The seniors came in first, sophomores second, juniors third, and freshmen last.
Classes accumulated points by participating in the rally last Friday, the car-bashing at the football game, and various spirit competitions during lunches. In addition, the scores they received on their eagles, floats, and skits contributed to the results.
Spirit Club allowed the teachers and faculty who are not associated with the four classes to judge the events and gave them criteria by which to evaluate the different categories. Although the sophomores placed first in the eagle and the float, two of the most important items for spirit points, the seniors secured first place overall.
“I think that it was unexpected for the seniors to come out on top coming into the rally, seeing as the sophomores [did so well] in the eagle and the float. It just goes to show that nothing is ever set, and there is always room for classes to excel and come back even if they have one bad event,” Andre said.
Many seniors were thrilled that they earned first place in Homecoming, especially because they placed fourth in last year’s Homecoming Week events.
“I think our class put a really great effort to make sure that everything was working. We did really well on the skit and tug-of-war,” Simar Mangat (12) said. “[Our class] really came together as a family, and you could see our spirit and enthusiasm in the rally. We did better than we’ve ever done before.”
Similarly, many sophomores were jubilant about defeating the juniors for the second year in a row and placing second in Homecoming.
“I think it was great that we were able to beat the juniors, given that they are highly competitive. It reaffirms that the class of 2015 is a highly spirited class,” Matthew Huang (10) said.
One of the biggest detriments to the juniors’ score was that their class skit was well over the time limit, causing them to lose several points in that category.
“It’s a bitter loss to be honest, but it’s only Homecoming. We have the rest of the school year to catch up,” Nithya Vemireddy (11) said.
Several freshmen also showed hope for future spirit events despite their last place finish in Homecoming.
“After seeing the spirit of the freshman class, I sort of expected last place. I felt that there were many spirited people in our class, but overall we lacked compared to other classes,” freshman class treasurer Dhanush Madabusi said. “Even without a great amount of spirit, we did well in a few events, so I feel that next year, now that the freshmen have seen what spirit really means and how fun it can be, we will definitely improve.”
Although Homecoming Week is over, the classes have several more opportunities throughout the year to gain further points, including the mystery spirit event this Wednesday at long lunch.
