![“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)
Classes participated in dodgeball match finals, competed in the annual Regatta and wore “Teen Surfers vs. Bikers” themed outfits for the second day of Spirit Week today.
The sophomores and juniors faced off for the first-place spot in dodgeball, with the juniors ultimately prevailing and the sophomores taking second place. Seniors beat the frosh to win 3rd place, while the frosh took last place. Preliminary rounds occurred last Friday to determine the winning and losing brackets.
Dodgeball participant Cameron Jones (11) explained his mindset before the game.
“We were all a little nervous going into dodgeball because the sophomores beat the seniors who are strong competition,” Cameron said. “But, as soon as it started, I just calmed down. People were just having fun playing dodgeball, and I didn’t even think about the fact that the whole school was there.”
Three students from each grade competed in Regatta, where they raced 75 meters on kayaks while using paddles to propel themselves. Sophomores Isabel Yang, Aden Liu and Stephen Summers finished first, followed by seniors Timmy Chen, Wenjie Zou and Shimeka Sahu. Juniors Akash Dubey, Ian Cheline and Jayden Ruffy finished in third, and frosh Jordan Sun, Guhan Nagarajan and Emma Xia took last place.
“It was really thrilling to win,” Isabel said. “Last year, the Class of 2028 lost and got fourth, and this year we put in a lot more effort. We had a better strategy, and we definitely put in the work to win it.”
This year, some rules for the Regatta were changed: teams of three instead of four competed on kayaks rather than the traditional large pool floaties.
The dress-up day theme is based on the “Teen Beach Movie,” which is centered around a rivalry between bikers and surfers. Various students donned black leather jackets, colorful flower leis and beach-themed attire to earn points for dress-up. The juniors took the second dress-up victory with 53.1% turnout, followed by the seniors with 50.9%, the sophomores with 49.6% and the frosh last with 6.6%.
Senior Mindy Truong, who wore a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses to fit the “surfer” theme, explained how the outfit came together.
“I decided on this outfit because I thought that it had a big surfer vibe,” Mindy said. “There are a lot of surfers in Hawaii, and my clothes are very vacation-like. The weather outside is great as well, so I thought this would be a good idea for today.”
Currently, the seniors are leading the spirit race with 2350 points, the juniors are a close second with 2250, the sophomores have 2000 points and the frosh trail behind with 900 points overall. Spirit Week will continue tomorrow with “Back to the Future” dress-ups and a second day of the “Coffee House”-style karaoke booth.
