![“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 Upper School Paul Barsky opened the school meeting with the poem “For a New Beginning” by John O’Donohue. He announced that current Dean of Students Kevin Williamson will retire after 26 years of service, and history and social science teacher Carol Green will succeed Williamson in the role starting July 2026.
Conservatory representatives Megha Unny (11) and Emma Zhou (10) encouraged students and faculty to attend the Student Directed Showcase on Jan. 9 and 10 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Eagle Updates hosts Charlotte Ludlow (12) and Pedro Castro (11) recognized Lucas Huang (10) and Jillian Chen (10) on the Boys’ and Girls’ Varsity Basketball teams as Athletes of the Week. Lucas leads his team with 100 total points and averages 10 points per game. Jillian leads the team in points scored, points per game, field goal percentage and assists per game. The hosts wrapped up by sharing winter sports updates for basketball and soccer.
HSLT officers Alice Luo (11) and Megha announced winter ball registration and revealed this year’s theme, Tangled.
Med Club Co-Vice President Yash Sachdeva (12) shared details about Harker’s annual Blood Drive, which will be held on Jan. 21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Nichols. The drive will be open to faculty members as well as students who are at least 17 years old.
Assistant Upper School Head Kelly Horan spoke about course planning for the upcoming school year, due on Jan. 27, comparing the process to planning a trip to Disneyland. She emphasized balancing rigorous coursework with extracurriculars and personal interests, encouraging students to prioritize self-care.
Faculty members also introduced several new courses: English 4: Literature and the Environment, AP African American Studies and Honors Cancer Biology.
Horan announced additional changes to course offerings and requirements. Robotics Principles: Hardware now fulfills the Computer Science graduation requirement, and Study of Technical Theater will be offered in the coming year. Updates to computer science pathways now allow students to take Computer Architecture and Expert Systems concurrently with Honors Data Structures. Global Online Academy courses will no longer be offered starting the 26-27 school year.
Horan ended her speech by reminding students to download a PDF of their schedule on Infinite Campus before course registration closes.
Nicole announced hot food for juniors and concluded the meeting.
While frosh, sophomores and juniors attended school meeting, seniors had a class meeting where they learned about upcoming events for seniors. Math teacher Anthony Silk detailed logistics for the annual Laguna trip in May, and Director of Annual Giving Jun Wang offered senior families the opportunity to donate $2026 or more to receive a brick with their name on it in Graduate’s Grove. After the meeting, seniors congregated in Graduate’s Grove to enjoy exclusive boba gifted by Annual Giving.
