![Setter Emma Lee (9) sets the ball to the middle during the match against Pinewood on Sept. 12. “[I’m looking forward to] getting more skilled, learning more about my position and also becoming better friends with all of my teammates," Emma said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DSC_4917-2-1200x795.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)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasn't making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable," Carter Chadwick ('22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
![“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)
![“[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)
![“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)
![“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)
- October 30Junior varsity girls volleyball conquers Kings Academy in two sets
- October 30Varsity girls tennis dominates Sacred Heart Preparatory 6-1 on senior night
- October 29Varsity boys water polo crushes Mountain View 18-4 on senior night
- October 28Aquila Weekly Wrap-Up: Oct. 19-25
- October 26School Meeting 10/24: HELM, Afghan Refugee Fundraiser and lockdown protocol
- October 26Gearing up for competition season with Robotics
- October 26Varsity girls water polo triumphs over Mountain View 12-5 on senior night
- October 25Perspectives: Movies at home vs. in theaters
- October 25Biology students test enzyme reactions with catalase and yeast
- October 25Town hall tackles reproductive rights and encourages community action
![“Emotions bring power to your words … In order to convince someone else of what you were saying, you have to fully believe in it and fully feel the emotions in your words to affect other people [and] convince them that what you're saying is true and has value,” Helen Li (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/HelenLi_SaloniShah-900x600.jpg)
![“[Reverse engineering] really started with robotics, there was one team that brought this really interesting mechanism to the world,” said Eric. “I could just, for the life of me, not figure out how it works. So I took a couple of videos, asked them for a couple of pictures, and I spent years on that. Occasionally I would spend an hour or so looking at it, trying to figure out how it works and a year or two later I finally figured out how it works. It made me realize that I love figuring things out," Eric Wang (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/EricWang_SaloniShah-600x900.jpg)
![“My dad is very curious,” Neelesh Ramachandran (12) said. "He is an engineer, so he obviously knows about electrical engineering and fiber optics, which is what he does, but if you ask him about whatever happened in the War of 1812, he can give you a sort of concise response. The way he thinks is by connecting broad principles, and that’s the way I try to approach learning as a whole. Nobody learns biology and only uses biology, because inherent in biology [are] concepts in chemistry and concepts in physics, so you have to look at everything. Especially this is true within STEM and outside of STEM—you have to be looking at the broader picture and [know] how to combine different domains, different aspects in science. That’s where the power really comes through.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/NeeleshRamachandran-MK-e1510024134433-601x900.jpg)
