![“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 presented on different types of research programs and gave tips on contacting professors for internships during lunch on Dec. 9. The aim of the workshop was to advise students on different avenues of doing research during the summer.
Presenters introduced specific summer research programs like California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS), Stanford Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging (AIMI), Rosetta Institute and UC Santa Cruz Science Internship Program (SIP). Research Club also invited students who attended these summer programs to speak on their experiences to give club members a better understanding of the application process.
Research Club President Kallie Wang (12) explained why the officers hosted this workshop.
“I find that a lot of students, especially freshmen and sophomores, don’t really know how to do research over the summer,” Kallie said. “So we wanted to shine light on a few different ways you can, from tips on how to get an internship, if that’s what you want, to talking about different programs and people’s experiences at those research programs.”
Those invited included juniors Evan Yuan for University of Iowa Secondary Student Training Program, Anika Basu for UCSB Summer Research Academies and Abby Wang for COSMOS. Seniors Disha Gupta, Brenna Ren and Shimeka Sahu spoke about AIMI, Garcia Summer program and Genomics Research Internship Program at Stanford respectively.
Abby noted that the workshop spurred her to speak on her summer camp experience. She wanted to share her story because of how impactful her time at COSMOS was for her.
“COSMOS was my first residential research program experience, so it opened a whole new world around dorm living and independence,” she said. “Our whole cluster still talks online and I hung out with my best friend from COSMOS in person after summer. We were all challenged and inspired by the program.”
Club officers highlighted key benefits to applying for research internships. They also advised attendees on how to personalize emails to professors and discussed specific factors to consider before working under a professor or postdoc.
Then, they encouraged students to ask teachers for recommendation letters as soon as possible. Once the presentation ended, officers opened the floor for questions.
Sophomore Alexander Maxim, who is interested in pursuing research throughout high school, commented on which parts of the presentation he found were the most insightful.
“Hearing their firsthand experiences gave me insider insight into how to strengthen my applications and make the most of the opportunities once accepted,” he said. “I found the discussion on how to contact professors particularly valuable, especially the guidance on creating a résumé.”
Throughout the school year, Research Club hosts a variety of presentations to help underclassmen conduct science projects and further their research. This workshop followed previous meetings on how to write proposals and access online research tools.
“I think it’s important that the new grades of aspiring researchers know about the opportunities available to them,” Abby said. “I want to encourage them to apply because my experiences had a really positive impact on my life and future goals.”
