![“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)
Green Team and Garden Club hosted a panel of student and faculty beekeepers to discuss hive maintenance and beekeeping on Feb. 26.
Featured beekeepers included junior Ethan Liang, Office of Communication Multimedia Production Manager Eric Marten, chemistry teacher Mala Raghavan and English teacher Nicholas Manjoine. Panelists presented photos and videos of their beehives. They shared anecdotes about their bees and fielded questions about bee biology as well as logistical details of beekeeping at home.
“I had a hive [where] the queen died, and I didn’t want thousands of bees to just die off,” Marten said. “They couldn’t make their own queen, because they didn’t have what they needed: a young egg to make a new queen. So, I put them on top of a hive that did have a queen, but I put a piece of a newspaper in between. In the time it takes for them to eat through that newspaper, the bees get used to each other.”
Ethan, a Santa Clara Valley Beekeepers Guild member and co-founder of the Bee Initiative nonprofit, was the panel’s student representative. He has been a beekeeper for four years, managing two hives in his backyard.
“I enjoy the actual honey, of course, but it’s also rewarding in other ways,” Ethan said. “It’s a little different from if you had a pet, but I still feel like they’re my bees and my queen bee. I have a special connection with them.”
Chemistry teacher Mala Raghavan’s first exposure to beekeeping came when she offered space in her yard to a Mountain View High School student researching bee behavior. She later learned to care for the bees herself when that research project ended.
“I didn’t have a clue [about beekeeping] when she started coming,” Raghavan said. “I just watched from a window overlooking the yard and got honey from her. When she left, my husband became more interested in my neighbor’s hive, and I eventually became more involved when they needed an extra pair of hands.”
The panel explained the different species of bees, how queen bees are born and some of the obstacles of beekeeping like predatory birds and lizards. At the end of the meeting, participants sampled jars of honey brought by the speakers.
“It’s always nice to hear from your peers and your teachers,” Garden Club Co-President Elaine Zou (11) said. “By listening to their experiences, it brings the issue of protecting our ecosystem and nature a lot closer to us since it’s active members in our community.”
