![“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)
Stanford professor Mark Jacobson presented on sustainable energy for an assembly, and wildlife conservationist Linda Lanzl spoke about environmental activism during a Green Team speaker event for Earth Day on April 22.
Dr. Jacobson centered his talk around how solar, wind and water energy can completely replace fossil fuels as an energy source. He presented statistics about countries like Iceland that rely on renewable energy for 95% or more of their power.
“Air pollution is the second leading cause of death worldwide,” Dr. Jacboson said. “We lose almost 7.5 million people every year from air pollution and global warming. We’re already at 1.5 °C warming since the 1850 to 1900 period, so to avoid further damage to the environment and our society, we need to address both problems immediately. It’s important to inform people about not only the pressing issue but the solutions that are available.”
Lanzl, founder of wildlife conservation nonprofit SAFE Worldwide, shared her journey transitioning from a large tech firm to living in Africa to support local conservation groups. After meeting a gorilla in Africa for the first time, she changed her life course and shifted to a career in preserving wildlife and raising awareness among the younger generation.
Her nonprofit focuses on saving endangered animals through trips across the world and increasing advocacy for animal protection. She emphasized the importance of volunteers, noting that their dedication is what allows the organization to work at such a high efficiency.
“You cannot protect wildlife without giving them a safe place to live,” Lanzl said. “What we do that is different from almost every organization that’s out there is that we don’t take any salaries. We will never take a penny from the donation money and the grants we get to fund our people. We have a team of volunteers who help worldwide on the scale of what we do now.”
Green Team Vice President sophomore Ishita Konakanchi coordinated the event with Lanzl and arranged an appropriate time for her to speak. She reflected on the thought process behind choosing Lanzl as a guest speaker.
“I joined Green Team to see how I could improve the sustainability at our school and spread its awareness to the community,” Ishita said. “We invited the speaker because she discusses a topic that we don’t directly deal with at the Green Team, but something equally important. Through the talk, I was able to remember that sustainability reaches far beyond pollution and extinction.”
The purpose behind Earth Week is to raise awareness about environmental issues and encourage communities to take action. For people like Dr. Jacobson, it provides an opportunity to gain a new perspective through helping others become more aware of the issues at hand.
“I don’t get too many opportunities to educate high school students except for my own, and I think it’s very important,” Dr. Jacobson said. “High school and middle school students are going to inherit the earth, and I’m trying to provide information that they can evaluate independently. I really enjoyed coming here, and I felt good that I had a good audience that was very receptive to this.”
Earth Week continued with a letter-writing activity outside of Manzanita on April 23.
