![“[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)
Medical Club invited biotechnology expert Stephenie Pistacchi to speak about her genomic medicine career during lunch on Oct. 14. Pistacchi is the Director of Program & Portfolio Management at biotechnology giant Thermo Fisher Scientific, which builds healthcare and laboratory products. Pistacchi shared her role in several of the company’s key developments, from gene therapy research to the development of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) test kits widely used to diagnose COVID-19.
“We used to diagnose infectious disease based on vital signs and temperature, or at the next level we could take a swab and grow it in a petri dish and see what you’re infected with,” Pistacchi said. “Now in the world of DNA, we can actually diagnose infectious disease by seeing what DNA or RNA from which infectious agents is in your body.”
Pistacchi explained that while biotech professionals may not be as well-understood as doctors and physicians, they provide critical contributions to the medical field. She spent 23 years in new product management, leading the creation of essential scientific tools.
“There’s a whole infrastructure behind the scenes that figures out the next generation of therapies and diagnostics doctors need to advance medicine,” Pistacchi said. “How do we build those and how do we get them into the hands of the people who use them?”
Med Club Adviser Matthew Harley prefaced Pistacchi’s presentation with a brief introduction to the biological processes and technologies she worked with, like the laboratory technique polymerase chain reaction (PCR) often used for identifying pathogens like COVID-19.
“It’s replicating DNA, and unlike our cells that replicate all of our chromosomes, we can target one specific spot and amplify, make hundreds, thousands of copies such that now we can visualize that [certain] DNA is present,” Dr. Harley said. “If COVID is present, these DNA fragments attach and copy many times, which we can easily visualize on a gel.”
Med Club Co-Director of Advocacy Hanz Baek (11) organized Pistacchi’s speaker event after learning about her through research and biology teacher Mike Pistacchi.
“Mr. Pistacchi is my research teacher, and he mentioned that his wife is a really big director at Thermo Fisher,” Hanz said. “He also mentioned she was the leader creating the qPCR test for COVID, and she would have 20-hour work days for two weeks. That dedication was why I wanted her to come in and speak about her experiences to the club.”
Med Club will host the Evening of Medicine featuring cardiothoracic surgeon Hon Lee on Nov. 17.
