![“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)
Research Club officers and club members held a series of workshops to help eighth graders write research proposals at the middle school from Nov. 3 to 7.
With offices visiting a different SRP group every day, a panel of Research Club students presented on the basics of writing research proposals, and then opened up for questions from the audience. Research Club Vice President and former SRP participant Anish Kosaraju (11) commented on why he decided to participate in the series.
“It’s an opportunity to give back to the community, because when I was younger I was helped a lot by my mentors,” Anish said. “My first mentor was really helpful, and I wanted to give back just like she did for me.”
Middle School SRP students then separated into their project groups to receive individual feedback from the presenters, with club members walking around the room and offering feedback to help them develop and refine their proposals.
This week’s workshop was one in a series of middle school-tailored workshops dedicated to helping the SRP students with their research. Later in the year, the Research Club will guide the middle schoolers through their abstracts and presentations.
Non-officer club members also had the opportunity to volunteer to help. Research club member Anusha Kotalwar (9) volunteered to present on Monday and enjoyed seeing middle school students’ projects.
“This is my first time doing something like this, so it was cool to try and help people out,” Anusha said. “One of the coolest projects I saw is about seeing how ant behaviors correlate to human behavior. They’re testing the ants how they act in certain situations and seeing how that connects to humans.”
Each year, around 60 to 70 8th graders pursue a science fair project under the guidance of a science teacher through the middle school’s Science Research Program initiative. By the end of the year, the students aim to compete in the Synopsys Science and Technology Championship, which gives them the opportunity to enter state and national science fairs.
Research Club volunteer Hannah Tay (9), who participated in the SRP program herself last year, enjoyed the opportunity to connect with former peers.
“It was really fun to see all the different projects and ideas they have, trying to help them out and see what else they can add to their project,” Hannah said. “What I enjoyed today the most is just talking to people. Some of these people I remember from last year, so talking to them, seeing what ideas they have is super cool.”
