![“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)
View the full transcript here:
Demitri Ajlouny (12): I started dancing freshman year, just auditioning for dance production both just for fun and for P.E. credits. And then I ended up loving it so much that I auditioned for KK (Kinetic Krew) the same year and then somehow got in, even though I’ve never danced in my life before.
And then as it progressed, I ended up just falling in love with it more. I decided to choreograph for my own routine this year, by taking dance composition last year, and then moving on to choreography this year. I think my biggest passion right now would be dance. It’s something that I enjoy the most out of my time, both at school and at home. It’s just a way for me to clear my head and get everything out.
Dance instructor Rachelle Haun: The first time I noticed him in class was when I was reviewing some choreography. And he was like: Ms. Haun, none of that is correct. These are the actual counts. This is what you taught us. And I was like, wow, I don’t think I’ve ever had that happen in the beginning dance class before. So I was pretty impressed.
He’s grown so much as a dancer. Obviously, he went from zero experience to now one of the most advanced hip hop dancers that we have in the school. He is always in here. He’s always practicing. He’s always learning new skills. But because he’s gotten such a deep dive into dance and he’s so passionate about it.
He’s also grown as a leader and he got so much leadership experience from when he was choreographing for the dance show this year, and he took it so seriously that he’s just an absolute role model for the rest of our dancers.
Demitri: I would say both dance and piano have helped me kind of hone my musicality over the years, especially piano because I’ve been doing that for as long as I can remember.
And I remember hating going to lessons, but then after my lessons stopped and I was just kind of on my own, I continued to play just for personal enjoyment, and it just kind of went from there. I still play nearly every day now.
[Sewing] kind of started because growing up, my brother and my cousins would all be interested in new clothes that were coming out or new shoes that were coming out. And I didn’t have much interest in them until I got to high school when I had to stop wearing uniforms. So, I kind of struggled picking out outfits every day, like, oh, what if this doesn’t look right? Or what if this looks bad? And then that kind of just segued into me making my own clothes so I could have something that I liked.
It’s designing something that I think would look cool, or something that would go well with a piece of clothing that I already have, and then going out to a fabric store, buying the materials and just putting it all together.
Roshan Amurthur (12): I thought it was really cool. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone in my life that has been able to do that. And I think it’s nice to have a friend to ask about advice or fashion.
And also, I’ve given him a couple of clothes to tailor, and he’s making sweatpants for me. And it’s just really cool to see him doing things that you can tell he genuinely, genuinely loves, even if there’s no one rewarding him or no one praising him for it. Like when I suggested that he should turn it into a business, he said he doesn’t want to because he just does it because he likes making cool things.
Deemo is a very artistic and creative person who expresses his artistic and creative parts of his brain by just picking things up. So fashion, music, dance — those are all, in my opinion, ways that Deemo sees and interprets the world. And I think it’s really cool he’s able to express himself like that.
