Big news in the speech and debate world: Harker debaters compete in a very tough district and, although only three students qualify per event to attend the national tournament each June, this year two of those students are from Harker! In original oratory, a 10-minute original persuasive speech, Nikhil Dharmaraj, grade 10, took first and Avi Gulati, grade 9, took second. Dharmaraj also took first at the state qualifying tournament and will be representing Harker at the state tournament in April. Meanwhile, freshman Nikki Solanki also did very well, advancing to semifinals in dramatic interpretation and fifth in program oral interpretation, making her the second alternate for the national competition in that event. Congrats to these students for this major accomplishment – especially as underclassmen!