“Go Elie!”

Under the searing football lights and chilly fall winds on Harker Day, Elie Ahluwalia (’26) looks up at the cheering crowd, full of the faces of people she loves. From classmates to family to outside guests, everyone had shown up to support her and the volleyball team. Calming her hammering heart, she turns back to the net with new focus and scores multiple strong kills.

Elie has been playing volleyball at Harker since she was in fourth grade, competing on girls varsity for three years and serving as captain for two. She loves the sport for its community bonds, and she developed her leadership and social skills through playing.

“Volleyball helped me find confidence,” Elie said. “I never could have seen myself yelling on a court with a bunch of other girls, playing a pretty physical sport. It was a good way for me to find how I interact with other people, to know how to talk to certain people on the court and how to talk differently to others.”

In volleyball, Elie strives to uplift her teammates. She endeavors to make everyone, including newer players, feel comfortable on the court with encouragement.

“If I see someone struggling on the court, I go up to them and pat them on the back and say, ‘Hey, I trust you, you’re doing good,’” Elie said. “I’m very focused on making sure everyone’s saying positive things instead of stress-inducing things. I want all of our vibes to be on the same page so we play a good game.”

Close friend and middle hitter Eden Kelly (’26) played on the same volleyball team as Elie for three years. She recalls moments starting out as a volleyball player where Elie encouraged her to keep going and to not give up.

“She’s a natural leader, and she’s always been someone that rallies the team,” Eden said. “At the end of the day, she’s always a positive force in the team and she’s always very encouraging. With me being new to volleyball, I would mess up, but she’d always come around and make sure I felt encouraged.”

Elie brings this same uplifting attitude to her work in diversity initiatives, having been on the Student Diversity Committee (SDC) since sophomore year and attending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) conferences since seventh grade. She also works on a board for national conferences to encourage bringing DEI to different schools.

As a multicultural young woman with an Indian Sikh dad and an Arab and Italian mom, Elie grew up around a variety of languages and perspectives. Now, she uses her work in DEI to better hear everyone’s voice, even “floating around” different lunch tables to listen to different perspectives.

“The best thing about Harker is that everyone is so different, so it’s just so good when you can hear from everyone,” Elie said. “That’s led me to believe that every person offers me something and I offer everyone something. Everyone’s worthy of being here and their story is so important. That’s definitely my philosophy: curiosity over judgment, going out into things asking ‘What can I learn?’ and being excited.”

Director of DEI Patricia Burrows, who has worked with Elie through SDC for two years and known her since middle school, sees her openness to discourse in her work. With Harker’s relatively new SDC and DEI programs, Elie led initiatives like social justice conferences and the new Lunch and Learn open discussions.

“Even in middle school, Elie was very socially conscious,” Burrows said. “She’s always just been a super compassionate, empathetic and a deep thinker. She makes the people around her also want to do their best, and that’s really a special quality.”

Close friend Janam Chahal (’26) grew up with Elie as lifers at Harker and appreciates Elie’s positive energy as a friend. She recalls their many shared memories together, especially Elie’s mouthwatering pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.

“Elie is one of the funniest friends I have,” Janam said. “She really never fails to make me laugh and she just brightens my day every time I see her. She’ll be there to listen to your problems and get you through it all while still making you smile and laugh throughout the process. She’s literally like a ray of sunshine.”

Elie connects her interests in volleyball and SDC with a shared leadership style of acceptance and encouragement. To her, the two are really not that different: both teams are like family.

“I definitely bring this diverse perspective into all of my leadership, so I try to make sure everyone’s heard and everyone’s seen,” Elie said. “I’m trying to make sure everyone’s accommodated and no one’s feeling alienated. I really try to keep a welcoming presence and make sure to hype everyone up. That’s the type of leader I am.”