![“[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)
- June 13Three years of laughter and excellence
- June 13Humans of Harker: Building the script for community
- June 13Humans of Harker: Crafting with care
- June 12Humans of Harker: Scoring with strategy
- June 12Humans of Harker: Nets and networks
- June 12Humans of Harker: Painting with purpose
- June 12Humans of Harker: Acing athletics and appetizers
- June 12Humans of Harker: Crafting curiosity
- June 12Humans of Harker: Throwing touchdowns
- June 10Humans of Harker: Leading with logic
![“It's important to keep sight during that period of learning [of] why you decided to pick up the instrument in the first place ... If you're able to recognize that 'Hey, I'm doing this to build my technique, to play pieces that I want to play, to express myself emotionally however I want to,' you'll find that after a while, your instrument will stop fighting you," Wilson Zhang ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/wilsonzhang_michaeleng_hoh-675x900.jpeg)
![“One of the most important things that one can do is using what you have to do real good,” Deven said. “In helping [someone] or in achieving X, Y and Z, it's not about, ‘It's going to make me more famous or it's going to make me more money.’ It's more, ‘Is this going to actually make a difference?’” Deven Parikh (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/DevenParikh_NicholasWei_HoHPhoto-675x900.jpg)
![“I got to a certain place where … you start to really feel empathy with [tabla], and you just enjoy playing and enjoy the speed. I felt like [the instrument] was trapped in this box of classical Indian music … But listening to the songs I listen to every day, I would start drumming in my lap, and at that point, I thought, ‘This isn’t out of place,’” Nicky Kriplani (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AniketKriplani_NicholasWei_HoHPhoto-900x675.jpg)
