![“[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)
Organic Chemistry students synthesized aspirin to practice organic synthesis with compounds containing benzene from Friday, Oct. 10th to Monday Oct. 20th.
Students began the four-class-long lab by combining salicylic acid, acetic anhydride and sulfuric acid to produce acetylsalicylic acid, also known as aspirin. They proceeded to vacuum filter, purify and confirm the identity of their compound.
Organic Chemistry student Spencer Mo (11) notes the lab provides hands-on experience working directly with lab equipment and reinforces lab safety.
“This is our first major experiment of the year and it’s definitely quite interesting because we’re getting used to lab materials,” Spencer said. “Right now we’re learning about the aromatic ring molecule type synthesis, and it’s in the same vein as the lab we’re doing because aspirin is also based on an aromatic ring.”
Organic Chemistry teacher Jane Prosek Gorninski hopes that the students become more confident in their abilities, whether it be mastering new techniques like handling strong acids or learning how to follow complex procedures.
“The first thing they ask an organic scientist is to know how to do a synthesis,” Gorninski said. “Safety is something that we have to be very aware of before we do things like this. You can never do it without a person that is experienced in case something happens to mitigate any problem.”
While the four-class procedure may seem long to some, Organic Chemistry student Leo Zhang (11) believes that the extended process is a valuable lab experience.
“I don’t know if any of the teachers ever offered a lab that it takes almost two weeks of classes to accomplish — it’s very in-depth,” Leo said. “We do a ton of work from just starting from the raw materials to hopefully in the end, synthesizing commercial aspirin with an acceptable degree of purity. It’s great practice [using] all of the organic chemistry lab techniques we’ve learned so far.”
Organic Chemistry student Aya Sugaya (12) feels as though this first major lab cements her interest in chemistry and presents a better sense of what college science classes would look like.
“I’ve enjoyed my chemistry classes so far,” Aya said. “I’m also thinking of doing something like chemistry or biology in college. [Organic chemistry] is notorious for being that really difficult course, so I wanted to try it out, see how it goes [and] prepare myself for college.”
