![“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)
When Suhana joined Harker in ninth grade, she entered with a goal of what she wanted to work towards: becoming a lawyer. Limited by the courses she could take in her first year of high school, she turned towards clubs, searching for a way to expand her love for fair law. It was at Club Fair when Suhana found the newly blossomed Law Club and became a key part of its foundation.
“I remember going to Club Fair and the team sounded very interesting,” Suhana said. “I knew that I wanted to be a lawyer, so I thought, ‘What a cool community to join and skills to learn.’ When I joined, we didn’t have much support and we didn’t have the best organization. Through the years, we built that up. Now we’ve got two attorney coaches, support from the school through Ms. Burrows and a huge team.”
Close friend Ankita Chakravarty (’26) remembers how they both entered frosh year as new students together, becoming close friends due to Suhana’s open character and exuberant approach to life. Suhana’s love for justice became clear right away with her opinions on the school system and politics.
“Suhana has always been very outgoing and very extroverted, and she is a very affable person,” Ankita said. “That has stayed the same as the years have progressed, which was especially helpful for Mock Trial and Honor Council. She approaches everything she does with a code — a core set of values that she adheres to that forms her interactions with other people in line with what she does with social justice.”
As Suhana grew alongside Law Club, she took lessons not only related to the rules of Mock Trial, but also in leadership and collaboration. When the senior president graduated after her frosh year, Suhana took up a leadership position that forced her to take charge of their tumultuous situation as a club, communicating with administration to get a club adviser and with law offices to invite someone that could teach and provide feedback to them.
“I’ve learned a lot from how my peers approached Mock Trial — not just the legal reasoning, but also how they approached learning something entirely foreign to them,” Suhana said. “Seeing other people do it helped me learn how to formulate arguments and give great speeches. Despite setbacks with people dropping at the last minute or getting sick, we were resilient and still able to compete every single time because somebody would fill in.”
English teacher Suzanne Salhab reflects on how Suhana has grown since entering Honor Council, blossoming from a quiet underclassman to a vocal leader within the group. Salhab taught Suhana in English 1 and Suhana’s continued interest in literature prolonged their conversations about justice and morality.
“As she became more seasoned and spent more time in that role, she took a more leadership role,” Salhab said. “I saw her confidence grow and she became more comfortable speaking out. It was exciting to see her do that, since it can be hard when you are in a room with people who are older and have more established roles.”
Close friend Savitha Satish (’26) has seen the vigor Suhana puts into her relationships and work. She highlights how Suhana puts her beliefs to the forefront of her life and works to keep them in check.
“She loves whatever she does and she pours her entire energy into it, tirelessly working and [staying] perseverant,” Savitha said. “She’s a very strong person — strong in her beliefs and what she believes is right and wrong. She will always fight for other people.”
In her leadership roles in Mock Trial and Honor Council, Suhana learned how to tackle problems as a group. She took people aside to better help them understand their individual roles and taught them to be more confident in themselves as they also took on more responsibilities in leadership roles.
“I wasn’t discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced,” Suhana said. “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.”
