![“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 full transcript here:
Claire Yu (12): I’m Claire, I’m a senior, and I would describe my high school experience as… pretty darn good. Not bad, not bad. I think my friends would describe me as pretty friendly, probably very excitable, jolly, energetic.
I actually started basketball because my friend who now does competitive dance needed emotional support to a two-week basketball summer camp, so I went with her and then after that, I just got roped into the team and started playing.
I love the adrenaline rush of basketball. I like the intensity, and I like the high speed of the game. I think basketball has taught me a lot of resilience and diligence because it doesn’t matter if you’re not really feeling it that day, you still got to show up and when you show up, you just put 100% into it.
Club-wise, I’ve played on Silicon Valley Basketball Club (SVBC) since 4th grade and been on a bunch of other Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) teams. In high school, I’ve also played all four years. My favorite part of playing has got to be the team, I can’t lie. I love the team aspect of basketball.
In basketball, since you’re with the team so often, you get to know them really, really well. Through my experience at least, we’ve always been able to become a mini family. There’s a lot of traditions that each of the teams I’ve been on have. For example, in SVBC, we’d always go to Yogurtland after games or get boba or dim sum, and for school, I love the bus rides. Everyone’s on the bus, and we play fun games with each other or just talk.
One thing that I actually really like about basketball is how you can also see your teammates grow over the course of a season, and I just think it’s really valuable to be a part of that and to just see it happen.
Club basketball coach Eric Lee: The thing that I notice the most is how supportive she is of her teammates. She gets up and claps and yells and is excited for every single one of her teammates whenever they do something well, and that genuine care for her teammates is something that you can’t teach and is integral to any team sport.
Claire: I definitely think I do spirit because of the community. I love just meeting new people and seeing how other people sort of see the world, how they think, and just talking to other people in general. Spirit has just given me the opportunity to meet so many people that I wouldn’t normally have been able to talk to or become friends with.
Janam Chahal (12): My first impression of Claire was that she’s an extremely kind and outgoing person. I mean, Claire is like the human embodiment of a ray of sunshine. She’s literally the sweetest person ever. I think she’s a very optimistic and uplifting leader and she always has very unique ideas to share. And I think she truly knows how to boost the morale and uplift everyone to accomplish great things as a class.
Claire: My favorite event in spirit has got to be the spirit dance. I really enjoy spirit dance; I think it’s so fun. I think it’s really meaningful when a bunch of people just get together and build something, and I think it really brings the community a lot closer to each other.
Keira Chang (12): She’s definitely a lot more confident in those leadership roles than she used to be, and she’s more decisive and more willing to state her opinions I think than she was before, which is definitely a really respectable thing. But at the same time, she also doesn’t ever change herself or kind of act differently than who she really is.
Claire: This is something that has helped me enjoy life more, but just being more positive. That thing where you smile when you’re happy, but if you smile more, you’ll become happy more, and just putting that into my daily life.
Claire: And that’s a wrap!
alexis • May 22, 2026 at 2:26 pm
yes claire!!