![“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)
Lily: Varsity boys soccer conquered Pinewood School 4-1 on Davis Field on Friday.
The Eagles began with kickoff and immediately controlled possession, getting two corner kicks three minutes into the game. Wingback Anchit Nayak (10) received a pass from forward and captain Ryder Hewitt (12) and dribbled down the left side before attempting a shot, which ricocheted off of Pinewood’s goalie. Forward Stanley Chen (12) rushed in for the rebound, but was kicked by the goalkeeper. After being checked by athletic trainer Wes Howard, Stanley stayed off the field for the remainder of the game.
Off of a free kick from center back Roger Fradin (10), forward and captain Vova Shchegrov (11) carried the ball into the box, where it deflected off the Panthers’ goalkeeper and forward Vinayak Sinha (12) was able to score the first goal of the game 1-0.
Vinayak: In the first half, we had a strong defensive line. We’re getting lots of chances on the goal, and we were able to get to a lot of the aerial balls that they were playing over.
Lily: Passing back-and-forth with Vova, Anchit attempted another shot, which hit off of the goalkeeper towards the goal. Vinayak struggled with Pinewood defenders to score, and the ball rolled back out to forward Christian Mehta (10), who aimed a lower left corner shot that went in, making the score 2-0.
Head coach Seena Sajadieh: Christian Mehta had a really strong game. He played multiple positions. I’ve had him out wide, I’ve had him in midfield, so he really stepped up, showed a lot of tenacity off the ball and also great offensive ability. He helped us create opportunities, and he even scored a goal himself.
Lily: With nine minutes left in the half, the Eagles conceded a goal when a failed header by center back Jackson Powell (12) led to a breakaway from the Panthers’ left wing.
Vinayak: We could obviously improve on keeping possession as a team, being more calm on the ball. That’s something that we’ll work on, and then, part of that also finding pass is finding the open man.
Cynthia: Pinewood kicked off the second half, but after a long pass from Christian, Vova took hold of the ball and dribbled down the line. Five minutes into the half, while defending a breakaway, Jackson fouled a Pinewood player, resulting in a free kick that Roger blocked with a header.
A long pass from Pinewood’s back line nearly resulted in another goal when goalkeeper Mikhil Kiran (12) kicked the ball into a Pinewood attacker, but he quickly recovered by catching the ball and throwing it to wingback Leo Denizen (10).
Christian: Us finishing chances in this game were really good. Our backline as well did very well, so that’s probably what we did the best. This game we played really well together. Our chemistry in this game was really good. That’s the best thing that we learned from this game.
Cynthia: After switching the field, Anchit passed to Vova, who dribbled the ball down the line and passed back to wingback Krish Nachnani (12). Maneuvering past Pinewood defenders, Krish crossed to midfielder Sam Li (11), who kicked the ball straight into the net, securing the third goal of the game 3-1.
Vinayak: And in the second half, we were doing a good job of keeping possession of the ball and building up our attacks rather than just playing balls over the top.
Cynthia: Off of a pass from Leo, Vova raced to an unguarded area and took a shot, but was blocked by a Pinewood defender. Controlling the ball in the middle, Christian passed to Leo, who one-touch passed to Vova. Vova crossed the ball to Vinayak to score the last point of the game bringing the score to 4-1.
Sajadieh: Something that we’ve been talking about a lot is making sure that the focus is 100% on ourselves. We’re not thinking about our opponent. We have an identity now, and we have a very clear idea of how we want to play. And as long as we stick to that, for me, that’s success, so that’s exactly what they did today.”
