![“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 gathered for the annual Winter Ball, enjoying an evening of dancing in a “Tangled”-inspired wonderland in the Auxiliary Gym and Main Office on Jan. 24.
The decorations included new elements like a tower behind the DJ modeled on Rapunzel’s tower in “Tangled” and lanterns hanging from the ceiling, which required coordination with facilities staff and lighting and sound company Owl Vision. Director of Student Organizations Eric Kallbrier emphasized the student-driven planning behind the event.
“The students did all of the work,” Mr. Kallbrier said. “They came up with the idea of doing “Tangled” and created a really amazing atmosphere that made a fun and enjoyable experience for everybody. As we got closer to the event, students stayed late after school to help make lanterns and paint the towers.”
Lanterns glowed on the grass outside on the quad, while tables were adorned with purple flowers and lanterns. Next to the entrance of Aux, tables were laden with candy, burgers, fries and themed desserts like purple chocolate-covered strawberries and green and purple Hershey’s kisses. For students seeking quieter activities, English teacher Christopher Hurshman’s classroom offered board games, poker and crafting.
Member of HSLT and Student Activities Board Ava Alvarez (11) described how students installed lanterns, arranged tables and prepared the different areas for games, photos and check-in.
“Planning started shortly after Spirit Week,” Ava said. “We settled on the “Tangled” theme, brainstormed decorations and set up most of the event the day before and the morning of. Seeing the lanterns, vines and tables all come together was really rewarding.”
Music played continuously throughout the night, with a DJ taking song requests from students. The evening ended with “I See the Light” from “Tangled,” and other songs included “Big Guy” from “The SpongeBob Movie” and Drake’s “NOKIA.” Prior to the event, the HSLT sent out a form to registered attendees to submit music requests.
Attendees captured memories with friends at the photo booth, which remained open until 9:30 p.m. Frosh Emma Liu said she appreciated the social aspect of the night, highlighting the decorations and photo booth.
“I loved how everything looked so beautiful,” Emma said. “I went because I didn’t want to miss out, and I’m happy I got to see my friends. Taking photos with them at the photo booth was definitely my favorite part of the night.”
Kallbrier highlighted how these moments were possible due to the careful planning and attention to detail that went into the execution of the night.
“People would walk into the gym and see it all for the first time, with gasps about how cute it looked or how awesome it was,” Kallbrier said, “Seeing students taking pictures together with the flower cart or in the hallways with the flowers hanging from the walls, all of those little details our students put together became special to people throughout the night.”
