![“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)
The sugary scent of candy permeated the air as students scurried around waving multi-colored frosting coated hands. During long lunch yesterday, all four classes participated in a spirit event in the theme of the holiday season: making “gingerbread” houses.
Over the course of the long lunch, students from each grade used graham crackers, frosting, and assorted candies to construct gingerbread houses in order to earn spirit points.
The seniors used marshmallows, gummy bears, and Fruit by the Foot to create a graham cracker food truck fully equipped with Oreo wheels and a marshmallow headlights.
“I think just building it [was fun] because it’s time pressure, and it’s candy and everyone is having fun, and in the end we get a finished product that looks really, really good,” Sierra Lincoln (12) said.
During their class meeting, the juniors planned to build the Golden Gate Bridge with a combination of donuts, cardboard, and frosting. However, t was not structurally sound and toppled while in progress. As a result, the juniors crushed the entire bridge and labeled it as “Christmas Gone Wrong” with the date of the impending apocalypse displayed in Twizzlers.
“We thought it would be more fun, if it was actually a total abomination of a design. Honestly, I can say that as an officer, this has probably been the spirit event we’ve had the most fun with since, I don’t know, a long time,” junior class treasurer Rohith Bethanabotla (11) said.
Using the Disney Pixar movie Up as their theme, the sophomores constructed Carl Fredricksen’s balloon house with yellow frosting, Hershey’s chocolates, and a shoebox. Similar to the juniors, the sophomores also planned their gingerbread house ahead of time. On the other hand, the sophomore house turned out as planned.
“We were looking at designs at the class meeting, and we saw the Up house and decided on that. At the last minute, it was like a mad rush, but I think it all paid off in the end,” sophomore class president Sarah Bean (10) said.
Despite the dearth of building supplies and experience, the freshmen succeeded in building a gingerbread house and marshmallow Santa Claus with a Nerds path. A “Sweet 2016” sign made of Skittles provided the finishing touch on their piece.
“It was our first year, so we didn’t really know what to expect, but we kind of showed up and randomly starting doing stuff, but in the end we pulled it together,” freshman class president Michael Zhao (9) said.
Many officers as well as student participants revealed that the spirit event gave them a chance to bond with one another in a competitive environment as well as a time to revel in the holiday season.
