![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.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)
Women in Sports Club (WiSports) hosted a Q&A-style speaker panel on Wednesday to empower young athletes, bringing Harker coaches together to discuss their journeys and the role of women in sports leadership.
Varsity girls soccer coach Taylor Ortiz, varsity girls volleyball coach Theresa “Smitty” Smith, varsity girls and boys golf coach Ie-Chen Cheng and former Stanford University rower Meredith Cranston participated in the discussion. Each speaker emphasized the value of teamwork, resilience and time management as student-athletes. Panelists also addressed the challenges unique to women in sports, like stereotypes and unequal representation in the media.
Ortiz, who played soccer since she was five years old, went on to compete at the Division-II collegiate level at Holy Names University. She spoke about how her own challenges as an athlete allow her to better understand her players’ hardships.
“I didn’t always have thick skin, so being an athlete before being a coach definitely toughened me up as well,” Ortiz said. “I see the struggles that I went through, and I want to be mindful as a coach and see all my players because I don’t know what goes on off the field. Especially coaching women, I feel I’m also in this role for a reason to uplift my athletes, make them feel very good about themselves and also be a point of contact if they need something.”
Varsity water polo player Elaine Xia (11) attended the session and found the discussion well-organized and thought-provoking. As a student-athlete herself, she valued hearing about the influence of past hardships on current coaches’ views on sports as a whole.
“Women’s sports in Harker are pretty incorporated,” Elaine said. “I don’t think there are that many inequalities between men’s and women’s sports at Harker, but outside, there’s space for women to be more visible. Coach Smitty mentioned womens’ professional sports leagues becoming more prevalent recently, so I think that’s definitely a step in the right direction.”
WiSports Director of External Affairs Alrisha Chen (10) played girls’ water polo for the past four years and hopes to foster a community where athletes can learn from each other.
“We organized this panel because we wanted students to hear directly from women who had success in the world of athletics and leadership,” Alrisha said. “After hearing their stories, we hope to allow younger athletes to envision their future, fight the challenges that come with women’s sports and the work that needs to be put in.”
