![“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)
Over 160 students took the American Math Competitions 10A and 12A in the auxiliary gym on Wednesday morning.
The 75-minute exam, administered by the Mathematical Association of America, consisted of 25 multiple choice questions covering algebra, geometry, number theory and probability. Juniors and seniors took the more difficult 12A version, while frosh and sophomores could take the 10A or the 12A.
Junior Manan Gupta took the AMC 12 this year after previously competing in the AMC 10. He found the test to be challenging because there were more advanced concepts, but felt that he was able to adapt quickly.
“What really makes it almost fun is that the problems are very unique,” Manan said. “You don’t get this in math class. They’re testing your math creativity rather than just if you know the formula because if you only know the formula, you definitely aren’t going to get all the problems.”
Mathematics department chair Anthony Silk, who administered the exam, attributed the large number of participants to Harker’s strong STEM culture and enthusiasm for problem solving.
“We’re a STEM focused school, so we have a lot of students who love math and science,” Silk said. “It’s 25 questions with different levels, and it’s just a great way for students to see what they know in math and everybody at Harker enjoys math at a certain level. Almost 20% of students participate in this competition, which is not that surprising given our population.”
Silk noted that what stands out to him most isn’t just the competition itself, but also how it brings together students who enjoy problem solving.
“When it’s over, the students get together and start talking about it,” Silk said. “They’ll compare notes and answers and have a debrief session as soon as the test is over. And it’s super fun for me to watch. It just shows how engaged our students are. It’s really about the process, not just about right or wrong, but ‘what did you understand.’”
To help students prepare, Math Club hosted several after-school problem-solving instruction sessions in the weeks leading up to the exam. Math Club advisor and mathematics teacher Dr. Anu Aiyer, who supervised and administered the exam along with Silk, highlighted how these sessions helped students strengthen their skills across a range of concepts.
“The problems only require topics before calculus, so it’s quite accessible to anybody who is interested,” Aiyer said. “Math club did a great job in some problem solving sessions. They hosted four after school sessions, about an hour each, to work on different topics like algebra, counting, geometry, and so on.”
