![“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 and club members visited the middle school to teach students how to write abstracts and present their projects on Feb. 17 and 19 in preparation for the upcoming Synopsys science fair.
The first workshop, held on the 17th, centered around writing the scientific abstract, a one-paragraph summary of a research project limited to 250 words. Because it provides judges with the first impression of a project, presenters emphasized staying concise and choosing words carefully. Research Club Officer Medha Choudry (10) described the important role abstracts play at a science fair.
“I decided to sign up for the middle school abstract workshop because I think it’s really important for the younger kids to know how to write a proper abstract,” Medha said. “Special judges and category judges should be able to clearly understand what they did.”
The second workshop on the 19th covered research presentations, from creating short pitches to navigating spontaneous questioning from judges. A key point was refraining from memorizing a long script, as it makes the speaker seem less genuine.
The Science Research Program (SRP) gives 8th graders the opportunity to get paired with a faculty mentor and pursue an independent or paired research project, with their final goal being to compete at the Synopsys Science Fair. Vice President Kallie Wang, a former Science Research Program (SRP) student, emphasized how much the visit meant to her.
“I remember what doing research for the first time and not knowing what to do felt like,” Kallie said. “It’s kind of a full circle moment. Now that I’m nearly at the end of my high school research career, I’m glad that the Research Club is able to go back and give advice and tips to the 8th graders.”
On both days after the presentation, the middle school students separated into their research groups to continue working on their projects. Officers walked around the classroom to answer individual questions.
In addition to officers, Research Club members seeking to become more involved with the club could volunteer to facilitate both workshops as well. Club member and workshop volunteer Selena Ghane (9), who was also part of the SRP program in middle school, reflected on the experience of coming back to spread her knowledge to others.
“I hope they left that session knowing what gaps need to be filled in,” she said. “I would also say that they should embrace the things that don’t work too, because oftentimes those are more valuable experiences than everything going perfectly.”
