![“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)
Book Blog, a reading interest group, commemorated two seniors during its annual senior sendoff in the library classroom on May 14.
During the meeting, members enjoyed a variety of cupcakes from Frost Cupcake Factory to honor graduating seniors Anoushka Chakravatry and Tara Nemati. Attendees also judged FanArt and FanFiction contest submissions that students sent in from late April until Thursday.
Before serving the cupcakes, librarian and Book Blog adviser Amy Pelman gifted journals to Anoushka and Tara as part of the club’s yearly tradition. Pelman noted the seniors’ constant devotion to Book Blog’s mission of promoting pleasure reading.
“They’ve both been with us since 9th grade,” Pelman said. “Sometimes people join later, but they were here from the start. Anoushka was my Near Mitra scholar, so we both worked together a lot on research and had fun together in Book Blog. Tara is our ideas machine, always coming up with amazing ideas, all kinds of opinions and is very well read.”
Book Blog Editor-in-Chief Urvi Singhvi (11) worked alongside Anoushka and Tara during her time with the club. She appreciated the seniors for their support in her Book Blog journey.
“It’s just been an accumulation of sweet moments over the years,” Urvi said. “They both have so many opinions, and it’s really nice to talk about them together. They always have good book recommendations.”
Tara looked forward to this day, having experienced the past three senior sendoffs. She emphasized the significance of having one final meeting to celebrate her accomplishments as an upperclassman.
“This is the first year in a while that we’ve had more than one senior graduating,” Tara said. “It’s fun to be celebrating two people instead of one. Book Blog has always been about just hanging out with people and enjoying the community — this is just an extension of that.”
With the school year coming to a close, Urvi values the time she spent working with the graduating class. As a rising senior, Urvi hopes to build upon the current club traditions and grow its events.
“I really hope we get new members,” Urvi said. “I’m excited to continue what we’ve been doing — continuing with book spots and events like these to help promote reading for fun.”
