![“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)
Head of School Brian Yager opened school meeting by sharing news about former student Zaeem Johnson’s passing a few weeks ago. Zaeem who joined harker in the eighth grade was hospitalized after a bike accident as a frosh. Yager reminded everyone to stay safe and invited people to write a note to Zaeem.
Conservatory representatives Simon Kirjner (12), Taylor Summers (12), Anika Basu (11), Megha Unny (11) and Emma Zhou (10) announced Capriccio and Downbeat’s upcoming annual holiday tour. The tour will conclude with a performance at the Los Gatos tree lighting in Town Plaza Park on Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. They also invited students and faculty to attend the Winter Instrumental Music Concert, which will feature performances from Lab Band, Jazz Band, Orchestra and Senior Concerto Winner Mindy Truong in the Patil Theater on Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Eagle Updates host Pedro Castro (11) recapped the varsity and junior varsity boys basketball teams’ games last week and commended frosh Sophie Shen for being the first Harker girl in six years to compete at the CIF State Cross Country Championships, placing 100th out of 205 runners. He announced upcoming season openers for girls basketball and girls soccer happening this week and encouraged team managers for each sport to send player and team statistics for future updates.
FEM Club officers Sofia Shah (12), Jillian Chen (10) and Janvi Trivedi (10) invited students to a round table discussion collaboration with Gender Sexuality Alliance to discuss how stereotypes and harmful social norms impact students on Dec. 9 at 12:45 p.m. They also announced a partnership with DECA and Project Glimmer to make care packages for women in need during the holiday season on Dec. 11 at 12:50 pm.
Honor Council members Christine Deng (11) and Camden Krause (11) shared finals study methods like the Pomodoro technique, spaced repetition and spreading out material. They stressed the importance of not cramming at the last minute and getting sufficient sleep.
CareerConnect Vice Presidents Varun Kaushik (11) and Elaine Xia (11) announced a finals preparatory workshop featuring advice from seniors Amishi Gupta and Spencer Chang on Dec. 5 at 12:30 p.m.
TALON Editor-in-Chief Hannah Jeon (12) and organizations editor Jasmine Hansra (12) reminded students about club photos during morning office hours and lunch on Dec. 1 and 3.
Student Council Campus Life members Nikhil Sharma (12), Nicole Dean (11), Samaara Patil (11), Dyuthi Vallamsetty (10) and Srikrishna Kataru (9) announced their Formal Attire Swap collaboration with Los Gatos High School on Jan. 17. In order to participate, students must download the Swap Circles app and fill out an interest form. They also announced a Clash Royale tournament happening in mid-January. Students must fill out a form that will be sent out later this week to participate.
ASB President Luke Wu (12) reminded students about Winterfest festivities such as class gingerbread houses decorating and winter walkways. He also announced that the warm clothing drive deadline was extended to this week.
Luke announced hot food for juniors and closed the meeting.
