![“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)
The Women in STEM club hosted a Scratch programming workshop titled “Never Refuse to Reuse,” leading local elementary school students through a step-by-step coding tutorial at the Bascom Library on Wednesday.
WiSTEM Outreach coordinators Risa Chokhawala (11) and Jessie Cao (10) and member Saahithi Koneru (11) presented a slideshow, teaching attendees how to create a game using Scratch, a block-based, beginner-friendly programming language. The workshop opened with an introduction to core programming concepts like loops, conditional statements and variables, later teaching students how to integrate these skills into their final project.
For Jessie, the goal of the workshop was not only to teach Scratch but also to inspire younger students to explore the world of technology.
“I hope the students, especially those who have never been introduced to Scratch before, get an introduction to how it works,” Jessie said. “Afterwards, I hope they continue their passion for coding or just get involved with programming, and that in their own free time they’re able to check out Scratch or experiment more on their own.”
Using a game template adapted from nonprofit Girls Who Code (GWS)’s curriculum, attendees built a recycling-themed game in which players controlled a recycling can that moved horizontally across the bottom of the screen. At the same time, a milk carton fell from above and reset its position once the carton touched the can or the ground. Players accumulated points by catching cartons in the can within an allotted time, after which a message displayed their overall final score.
Previously, the club hosted STEM Buddies activities like UV bead bracelet-making and a strawberry DNA extraction demonstration at the library.
“We thought it would be nice to have a good diversity of workshops, so now this one is a more coding-oriented one,” WiSTEM Co-President junior Anika Basu said. “We’ve been preparing for this for a while now. [Saahithi, Risa and Jessie] took the curriculum from Girls Who Code but made a lot of modifications to really personalize it to this event. They trained the volunteers and had run-throughs, and here we are now.”
WiSTEM officers and members worked with students individually, guiding them through any questions or challenges they faced. Member Hailey Li (9) commented on the joy she felt from volunteering at the event.
“I’ve been in WiSTEM for this whole year, and I decided to try out one of their volunteering events,” Hailey said. “The student I was paired with was also named Hailey, and I just really liked helping her, and I thought it was fun.”
