![“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)
MINNEAPOLIS — Twenty-nine journalism students and three staff attended the spring Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association National High School Journalism Convention in Minneapolis from Thursday to Sunday.
The convention featured various journalism workshops, presentations and speakers as well as the National Journalism Quiz Bowl at the Minneapolis Convention Center from Thursday to Saturday. Harker students attended various presentations, like InDesign tips and covering controversies. Harker also presented four presentations: “67 Ways to Bond,” “Humans of [Your School],” “Celebrate the Silver Lining” and “Rework Your Flow.”
In the closing ceremony, JEA/NSPA board members presented awards to publications and students. Harker Aquila won the 2025-26 Pacemaker award in the Online category, the most prestigious award in student journalism, for the first time in four years.
In the NSPA Best of Show competition, Winged Post placed seventh in Newspaper and Aquila second in Website. Talon also won fifth place for Yearbook. Harker also received the First Amendment Press Freedom Award for the fifth consecutive year.
Nine journalism students placed in National Student Media Contests (NSMC), a competition where student journalists attending the convention can submit work to receive recognition and professional feedback. Juniors Sarah Wang and Heather Wang won superior, the highest rating, in Literary Magazine: Illustration and Review Writing, respectively. Along with a paper of recognition, they also received purple and gold medals. Juniors Chelsea Xie, Claire Tian and sophomore Shreyas Karnam won excellent for Newspaper Layout, Newswriting and Editorial Writing respectively. Juniors Emma Lee, Samaara Patil and Leah Krupnik won honorable mention in the Graphic Design: Advertising, Literary Magazine: Photography and Commentary Writing categories respectively.
Sixteen Harker editors comprising four teams all advanced to the quarterfinals of the Quiz Bowl which was held on Saturday morning after an online preliminary test on Friday morning. Questions ranged from the history of American journalism to Associated Press style formatting.
The team of senior Eva Cheng, juniors Claire Tian, Sam Li and sophomore Kanav Gupta advanced to the semifinals after defeating Westville High School but ultimately faltered to eventual first-place winners West Linn High School 6-3.
Former Aquila Editor-in-Chief senior Eva Cheng participated in a panel with editors of other online NSPA Pacemaker finalists on Friday afternoon, during which they discussed student journalism in an increasingly digital age.
Eva shared her experience talking with other student journalists and hopes to implement new techniques she learned into Aquila.
“I really enjoyed being able to hear the panelists from other publications and learn about what they were doing on their own websites,” Eva said. “We were all Pacemaker finalists, and a lot of them were doing innovative things that could benefit our publication as well. It was beneficial to hear from them and share our advice.”
Math teacher Bradley Stoll has been a journalism trip chaperone for the past three years and enjoys being able to see students enjoy themselves outside of school.
“It’s nice to see kids outside the academic setting,” Stoll said. “You all are having such fun, supporting each other. [I took away] the importance of journalism and truth, and being able to hear and see it through someone who’s not blinded by something else.”
![“Probably the most important thing that I can do is to help raise awareness amongst youth because [students] are the ones that sadly are going to inherit this mess. It’s important for us, the people who helped take the planet to the place it is now, to really lean in and make a difference about this issue," Moss said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC_9315-e1778880890147-1200x873.jpg)
