![“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)
Students visit Stanford University for MUN conference
Delegates pose for a group picture of their committee in front of the main entrance to Stanford University. The MUN conference was held during the weekend.
Over the weekend, members of the Model United Nations (MUN) club participated in a conference at Stanford University. Although eight students attended, none of them won awards.
The club, led by debate teacher Carol Green, mimics the United Nations and its committees. During conferences, every student represents a country and forms various solutions for modern-day problems for each respective nation.
“Each person is a delegate of a country, and you basically argue over a certain topic until you come up with a resolution, which is chosen by a voting period,” Shalini Arimilli (9) said, after attending her first MUN conference.
Most of the Upper School students at the conference were new to the MUN and enjoyed the experience.
“Including me, seven out of the eight people that went to the conference were new to MUN, but at first, it was kind of intimidating and then in the end, the conference was fun,” Aishu Murari (9) said.
Over 600 schools participated in the MUN conference. Each school received country assignments for the students, who would then write position papers about their selected topic. Besides being assigned a country, the students would be put in a designated committee with two topics to discuss. Committees from the UN were made up of a range of 10 to 20 students. Each group had a chair and a co-chair, who were undergraduates at Stanford University.
Sean Hiroshima, a sophomore at Stanford, is the chair for the Organization of American States (OAS). UN committees such as NATO and the OAS were represented at the conference. Hiroshima felt that Model United Nations helps students with public speaking and common knowledge of current events around the world.
“It really teaches delegates a lot about the challenges that our representatives have to deal with everyday and also helps them gain confidence,” Sean said.
Students from all around the world came to Stanford University for this conference. Delegates visiting from Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Chicago debated over the weekend.
Maria Jose Gaytic, a student at the Puebla Mexican School in Mexico, expressed her views on the MUN procedures in the United States compared to the procedures in Mexico.
“Ever since elementary school, I fell in love with MUN and decided to come to the US MUN in order to compare it with the MUN back home,” Maria said.
The MUN conference ended with a closing ceremony on Sunday afternoon.
Ayushi Gautam (12) is the Managing Editor of Harker Aquila. She has been a part of the journalism program since her freshman year. She was the Social Media...