The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

“As an actor, Im able to say things in a way that nobody else can. If I want to convey a message, being on stage and being a character and telling this story the best way that I can is my preferred method of communicating my ideas with you. So whether that be social justice or family issues, I can really say whatever I want, by being whoever I want. I think its a really cool way to communicate with people, Lucy Feng (23) said.

Humans of Harker: Taking center stage

by Selina Xu and Sidak Sanghari August 17, 2023

Sitting in the lobby of the Rothschild Performing Arts Center (RPAC), a smile spreads across Lucy Feng’s ('23) face as she fondly recalls her first experience in an upper school theater production, playing...

Spirit is definitely one of the biggest parts of my life at Harker, especially last year on HSLT. I really like being involved in spirit because you get to interact with your classmates and just take your mind off of academics for a bit. I don’t want to sound cliche, but its high school. Enjoy it while it lasts, Ashley Ma (23) said.

Humans of Harker: From a spark to a flame

by Hima Thota, Co-Features Editor August 17, 2023

A passionate advocate for social issues, an ardent Taylor Swift fan and a spirited student leader, Ashley Ma ('23) never shied away from showing her passion for the things she loves. From her love for...

“[When] youre driving by and you find something interesting, you have to find the perspective. Even if you dont have much time, you still have to figure [it] out. There is this mixture of not having enough time, but still wanting to find something thats going to be memorable that I find really interesting,” Keesha Gondipalli (23) said.

Humans of Harker: Road of empathy

by Brandon Zau, Photo Editor August 17, 2023

As day turned into night, a worried middle school student Keesha Gondipalli ('23) sat patiently with her cabin mate, relating Harry Potter-inspired stories. She spoke calmly as she soothed her friend to...

Trying new things isn’t always something that automatically comes to me. But trying new instruments has really made me feel like if I do try something new, I can have a really good time with it while learning something interesting, Will Lee (23) said.

Humans of Harker: An instrumental transition

by Steven Jiang, Co-People Editor August 17, 2023

Glinting gold trombone in hand, Will Lee (‘23) stands under the stage lights, blending colorful melodies with jazzy notes in dazzling style. As he looks around, surrounded by his bandmates, Will slips...

“Humans are complicated. Youre going to have very good friends, but the exact feeling for each friendship is going to feel different. Its very interesting how the individual bonding element between humans can shape public lives,” Karina Chen (23) said.

Humans of Harker: Storytelling through art

by Michelle Wei, Humans of Harker Co-Managing Editor August 17, 2023

Dressed in a teal hanfu adorned with pink blossoms, Karina Chen ('23) raises her Chinese flute, its long bamboo body resting in her hands. With delicate grace, her fingers dance over the holes, ready to...

Cybersecurity is going to be one of the most important things. I have one opportunity to make the world
a better place. If I jump on that, I would have succeeded, Andrew Fox (23) said.

Humans of Harker: Chaotic coding

by Brandon Zau, Photo Editor August 17, 2023

Andrew Fox ('23) discovers the greatest reward in projects he creates for his classmates. When taking AP Computer Science A and Data Structures, Andrew felt that Javatown, a program that helped students...

At the end, my dance teacher told me that it had been one of the easier photo shoots. It meant a lot because it takes a lot of time to do, but she told me that I was made for the camera. That made me feel really good because I want to become an actress one day, because I enjoy the melodrama and impractical love stories in Indian movies, Namrata Karra (23) said.

Humans of Harker: Stepping into stardom

by Saahil Herrero, Copy Editor August 16, 2023

Namrata Karra ('23) remembers spending five hours a day training and rehearsing for her Rangapravesam, a three hour long Indian dance performance marking her graduation from Indian classical dance. Her...

On the basketball team, I want to make everyone feel like they’re part of the team. For SDC, I want every member of the community to feel like they belong. They’re definitely tied together. In a sense, I want people to always feel like they belong wherever they are, whether that’s at school or on a basketball team, KJ Williams (23) said.

Humans of Harker: Game on, change on

by Suhani Gupta, Reporter August 16, 2023

Sports and social justice might appear vastly different, yet both similarly aim to foster community — ones that strive to bring people together through acceptance and compassion. On any given day, KJ...

Over time, my interests within aviation have really changed, but my passion for aviation as a whole has stayed super constant. I always knew I liked airplanes. I like being around them. I like being in them. I like to fly, Jai Vir Mehta (23) said.

Humans of Harker: Always airborne

by Heidi Lu and Sidak Sanghari August 15, 2023

“Avion.” That was the first word that came out of Jai Vir Mehta’s (‘23) mouth. Even before saying “Mama” and “Papa,” his first word was aviation-related. After listening to his Peruvian...

One thing that figure skating really taught me was to manage your emotions and expectations and feelings. With investment banking, its a very similar situation where youre constantly on edge. A lot of what you do isnt dependent on your own work. Its dependent on other people, or it’s dependent on the stock market. Those lessons will be able to translate very well into my actual career, Trisha Variyar (23) said.

Humans of Harker: Figures and finance

by Mendy Mao and Jonathan Xue August 14, 2023

Trisha Variyar ('23) glides gracefully across the ice skating rink, arms extended with perfect poise. Beneath her, elegant arcs and lines form on the surface of the ice, carved by the edges of her skates....

“Oftentimes when you interact with a professor or teacher at Harker, it’s a very professional relationship, but through this process, I got to know these very accomplished people as just people. It’s great to make interpersonal connections with such amazing people that I never thought I’d get the opportunity to speak to,” Vishnu Veeravalli (23) said.

Humans of Harker: Philosophical parallels, scientific studies

by Aryana Bharali, Humans of Harker Profiler August 13, 2023

Vishnu Veeravalli ('23) meticulously reflects on a philosophical treatise brimming with annotations before returning focus to his digital research paper, expressing his perception and findings for eventual...

I always that there are some things that are going to always be out of my control, like peoples opinions of me, but that’s someone elses decision. If I just keep working towards [my goal] and not think too much about what other people think of me, my hard work does pay off in the end, Emma Biswas (23) said.

Humans of Harker: Bubbling with brilliance

by Jonathan Xue and Rachel Ning August 13, 2023

Intricate diagrams of cells and phospholipids cover the large whiteboard as Emma Biswas ('23), sitting in the front row of her AP Biology class, curiously observes and analyzes the images. She confidently...

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