![“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)
Conservatory representatives Simon Kirjner (12), Taylor Summers (12), Megha Unny (11) and Emma Zhou (10) opened Monday’s school meeting with a short video about the upcoming fall play, “Clue”. The video featured actors and stage crew involved in the production, revealing a glimpse into the characters and conflicts of the play. The play will take place on Oct. 30, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at 7 p.m.
Eagle Updates hosts Charlotte Ludlow (12) and Pedro Castro (11) named varsity girls golf player Joyce He (11) and varsity girls volleyball setter Nat Tan (12) as the Athletes of the Week. They also commended girls golf for securing the title of league champions and the football team for their dominant 44-8 senior night win against Pinewood last Friday.
Gender Sexuality Alliance President Anoushka Chakravarty (12) recognized National Coming Out Day, an Oct. 11 holiday that raises awareness and provides support to those disclosing their sexual orientation. Anoushka spoke about their own experience with coming out, mentioning the importance of giving others support if they choose to reveal their sexuality.
Harker Eclectic Literature and Media (HELM) editors Carissa Wu (12) and Ariel Zhang (12) revealed this year’s theme for their annual magazine: “Stray.” HELM invites students to submit photos, writing or art and gain experience with the editing process.
With Halloween approaching, SDC representatives Dhanya Ramanan (11), Shreyas Karnam (10) and Ishaan Dhillon-Patel (10) gave reminders about remaining respectful and avoiding cultural appropriation when planning costumes. They also announced that all-gender restrooms have been installed in every building on campus and revealed that the 2025 Day of Understanding will take place on November 20th. After signing up, students are encouraged to discuss media literacy, civil discourse, global awareness, and peer interaction.
Senior Honor Council officers Linda Zeng and Suhana Bhandare announced the upcoming Honor Week, with each day highlighting a core value of the honor code. The initiative kicks off next Tuesday with accountability, as council members engage the community with reflective questions. World history teacher Mark Janda will speak to the school about respect and the education’s role on Wednesday. Thursday will center around creating a safe learning environment through a campus scavenger hunt, and Friday will conclude the week with a Halloween-themed activity centered on integrity.
LIFE Board members Natalie Barth (12), Minal Jalil (12) and Sathvik Vemulapalli (12) invited students to an activity on Wednesday during long lunch in the quad, where students will try to eat a donut off of a string without their hands. They emphasized the importance of free time to prevent burnout.
StuCo and ASB representatives Kallie Wang (12), Ameera Ramzan (11), Sophia Zhu (11), Avi Gupta (10) and Ushnish Chatterjee (9) performed a skit to introduce the first Campus Life Coalition (CLC) town hall, where members from StuCo, Life Board Leadership, Green Team and HSLT come together to answer questions from their peers. CLC organized the meeting to provide more transparency about their initiatives to the Harker community.
To conclude the meeting, ASB President Luke Wu presented the QR codes for the day’s meeting and dismissed students to Office Hours.
