The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“With volleyball and Medical Club, I love working with people. I get to work with people who aren't necessarily in my classes or aren't my friends specifically, but we get to work hard and work together towards a common goal. That collaboration aspect is really important to me," senior Navya Samuel said.
Humans of Harker: Cooperation through competition
“Human connection is very important to staying grounded and stable. The people around me are one of the reasons that I'm not fully burnt out, so I really prioritize keeping a good schedule for myself. Being able to prioritize the things in life that give me internal satisfaction is important to me because that's what allows me to have the drive to do good with the rest of my time. Talking to people is a way for me to replenish," senior Kashish Priyam said.
Humans of Harker: Pep in every step
“It's very important to make sure the people in your life know they're important to you. Whether that's doing small acts of kindness or just being there whenever they need you, having a really strong support system is what gets you through life, and it's a really valuable life skill to have," Sofie Marino (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Pillar of support
“My karate teachers emphasize that as black belts, we should be living up to the standard of our rank and acting as an example for the students who are lower-ranked.' When I’m helping out and someone messes up, I don't necessarily say, ‘You did this wrong, try to do this.’ I take a more relaxed approach and act out what they did a little comically. It's finding the balance between being strict and being more playful with the students," senior Claire Perng said.
Humans of Harker: Playing with purpose
“I have the ability to convey my opinions and ideas through art, which in my opinion, is the most powerful tool I have because not everyone has it. It requires me to, first of all, have an opinion or thought, and second of all, be able to convey it with this medium. Together, that is the strongest calling for an artist," senior Eva Li said.
Humans of Harker: Artistry in abstraction
Humans of Harker: Cooking with creativity
Humans of Harker: Cooking with creativity
“There's a lot of value in every moment and everyone around you. I appreciate people who just appreciate the little things. For me, I feel like everyone you meet can teach you a little bit, and that's something that I've really internalized over the years. I think that's part of why I like being around people and different communities so much. Because in each of these communities, you can learn so many different things from everyone," Olivia Xu ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Purpose towards progress
“I get to choose how much effort and detail I put in, and that’s what you’re going to see in the end. I love that you can see the truth on paper. A lot of my work is in black and white, so I can’t rely on color to cover it up or make it more interesting — I can only rely on my skill and willingness to go into the studio and add to my piece," Katelyn Zhao ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Envisioning the everyday
"I used to think that I have to keep doing dance just because it's what I’m known for. But now I’ve realized there’s beauty behind all the madness that happens. And it’s now a part of me, so not doing dance or not having Legos is like I’m losing a part of my identity," Luke Mehta ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Building with style
“Why not? So many things are very foreign or unknown to us, but there’s not much to lose by just trying things. I initially wasn’t very comfortable with DECA, especially with impromptu, but the community really helped me grow out of that. And DECA is now one of my top high school memories. Just giving things a try is really worth it, and if it fails, the worst thing that can happen is you just try something else," Claire Luo ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: It’s all in the details
"Being a lifer, I really want to put my knowledge to use. Being a TEDx speaker is a really big honor in and of itself, but to be able to actually address the Harker community was really important to me because I wanted to have an impact on the place that I've been at for 13 years," Arissa Huda ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Prescribing change
"I’ve learned discipline: practicing a lot and then knowing what your strengths are, knowing where to improve. That discipline is definitely going to stay with me. If I’m trying to get a big piece of work done in general when I'm interested in it, I'll stop at nothing to reach my goals," Linette Hoffman ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Artistry in motion
"I have this philosophy with theater. I wholeheartedly believe that my life was made for the stage, and all my make or break moments have happened there. While some people learn best through lectures or visuals, I learn best from having a spotlight on me," Zubin Khera ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Scripts to success
"One of the most important things for me about performing is its transformative power. There was one concert where we were singing this commission about gun violence, followed by a piece about climate change, a piece about the Holocaust. Watching the audience's expressions and how they reacted to the music we were singing was the first time that I was like, ‘Whoa, music has the power to change lives and engender positive change,’” Sawyer Lai ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Symphony of spirit
"It’s been fun getting to know the chefs at La Mar, their team and how different cultural influences blend together. For example, they make ceviche, which is a traditional Peruvian dish, but they infuse it with many different cultures. They have a version of their ceviche which is inspired by African tastes and spices, and they also have a Japanese form of that same ceviche dish. I think it’s interesting to watch how these fusion dishes form," Alex Lan ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Flavors of knowledge
Prakrit Jain ('22) searches for new animal species to help the environment and wildlife.
Humans of Harker: Scorpion spotter
Arnav Gupta ('22) moves a DNA construction.
Humans of Harker: Coding for a cause
“[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.
Humans of Harker: Blast of creativity
"Every single person I've interviewed for Humans of Harker has said one killer quote that has stuck with me even through four years of high school, and I think I really do internalize those messages. There are nuances in every single person's experience that makes it unique to them and also makes it a good lesson for everyone else. It's just amazing to see how much wisdom every single person at Harker has, and it's fascinating to learn about those stories," Erica Cai ('22) said.
Humans of Harker: Harmony in humanity
“Something I took away from baseball is that there's always the opportunity to bounce back when things don't go particularly right. Even the best hitters only go one for three, so being able to push through that is one of the most important parts of the game. Being able to identify what goes wrong and learning from that is important to being able to find success in the future," Mark Hu ('22) said.
Humans of Harker: The perfect pitch
Humans of Harker: Perseverance on par
Humans of Harker: Perseverance on par
It's been obviously rough, turning on the news and seeing another death, seeing another acquittal every single time … but, ‘How much can I do?’ is the question I'm asking myself. ‘How much can I help, and what impact can I have?’” Brian Pinkston ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: For the future and the present
“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.
Humans of Harker: Leading with DECA-cation
Class of 2021: Humans of Harker compilation, part three
Class of 2021: Humans of Harker compilation, part three
“I feel really good about myself when I'm relaxed and enjoying the world. There’s so much to learn about the world and so many ways to do so," Daniel Wang ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: Mapping the unknown
"I'm the person that always has a plan for everything. And then I have backups for the plan, and I have backups for the backups," Nicole Chen ('19) said.
Humans of Harker: Calendars for a cause
"I don’t ever intend on letting the internal love of life that I have leave me. As I grow up and I maintain my love for the random things I do, I know I’ll be happy– and hopefully people around me will be, as well," Mathew Mammen ('19) said.
Humans of Harker: Jack of all trades, master of fun
Humans of Harker: To dance, to feel
Humans of Harker: To dance, to feel
"The more serious side, people will never see. You'll never see who's behind one of these websites that people may be using," Neil Ramaswamy (12) said. "Several freshmen have approached me like, 'hey, you're the really funny guy at school meeting' and I'm like 'hey, yeah, nice to meet you' and at the same time they might be using an application that I've written not knowing that it's me. I kind of get that personal satisfaction knowing that there is a serious side to me, you just don't know about it."
Humans of Harker: Dueling with duality
Humans of Harker: Humanity in art
Humans of Harker: Humanity in art
“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.
Humans of Harker: Neymika Jain finds balance in life
“A lot of the time, when I’m out at nail salons, nailers ask me if I‘m Vietnamese. I say yes, but they say that I don’t speak the language and have never been back to Vietnamese, so am I really? I always felt disconnected, like I would be Vietnamese-American but never Vietnamese. When I went to Vietnam for the first time, it brought me closer to my culture. I realized I shouldn’t view myself as a different. I have to see Vietnamese-American and Vietnamese as one and the same," Haley Tran (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Haley Tran values her cultural identity
“One time, I was hiking up this giant off-trail path, and this is going to make me sound like a complete hippy, but what I was thinking at the moment was that every single tree out there must have had some sort of backstory. Even when I was walking to Shah, there was this tree right next to the building, and I was like, ‘Maybe this tree had a lot of other tree friends, but then this building came up and they had to get cut down.’ That made me pretty sad. So, when I was coming up with backstories for trees, it reminded me of my childlike innocence of playing pretend or playing with my stuffed animals because I thought my imagination would never run as wild as it once did. But, this experience made me feel happy because it’s something that I’ve lost, and I feel like I gained some of it back," Aashish Jain (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Aashish Jain finds inspiration in painting through watching Bob Ross videos
“For me, robotics has always been a great way to learn about how to build things and how things work. Honestly, that is the reason why I love robotics. When you see everything working, you look at it and say 'I helped make this happen,' which is really really gratifying," Andrew Tierno (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Andrew Tierno reflects on his passion for robotics
“A lot of being a choreographer is about digging deep, understanding, and finding out which event leads to the next, which is basically what science is. You would take a circuit and break it apart to understand each of the components, and you would do that to a song,” Sneha Bhetanabhotla (‘17) said.
Humans of Harker: Sneha Bhetanabhotla learns to connect robotics and dance
“I can be serious, and I care a lot about a lot of things, but I also just like having fun and people feeling comfortable being their true selves,” Isabella Spradlin (12) said. “You don't have to be one-sided — you can have different sides of your personality, and different moods.”
Humans of Harker: Isabella Spradlin gleans insight from sisterhood
“This is like a melting pot of Cupertino, Lynbrook, Saratoga, some people from De Anza, so you meet all kinds of people,” Rahul Mehta (12) said. “Half the time I’m not even playing with my friends, so I’m playing with random people. You start off in the beginning a bit wary of each other, and then by end you’re playing like they’re your friends. It’s kind of gradual. Like after a really cool play, you’ll high five each other, and that’s how it all begins.”
Humans of Harker: Rahul Mehta befriends others through banter
"People are always debating, you know, ‘should I go up to a higher weight or not?’ And I’ll just yell, ‘do it, you won’t,’" Tiffany Shou (12) said. "And then, you know, it’s like that challenge, and so it always pushes them pick that higher weight, and then they can accomplish it, so it’s even more gratifying."
Humans of Harker Video: Tiffany Shou pushes her limits in the weight room
“First, I start at my house,” Sparsh Chauhan (12) said. “Then, I turn on Saratoga, and it’s always crowded with traffic and stuff. That’s when I’m setting the music, checking the tire pressure, the gas. After downtown, the road gets smooth, which is when I put the windows down. I go all the way down until there’s a dip and then I go back. Even when I have stuff to do, I drive that same route every day. I don’t have to take directions. I know all the traffic times; I know exactly where I’m going.”
Humans of Harker: Sparsh Chauhan takes pride in his work
“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.”
Humans of Harker: Angel Cervantes chases his goals
“[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.
Humans of Harker: Learning to fall
“You just have to go for it. You think, 'In the future, if I think back and regret it, is that how I want to end up — or would I rather just try something and see what happens?' Usually, it turns out well,” Montek Kalsi (’20) said. 
Humans of Harker: All fun and games
“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.
Humans of Harker: Leadership and love
Humans of Harker: Grit and grind
Humans of Harker: Grit and grind
Humans of Harker: Artistic nonconformity
Humans of Harker: Artistic nonconformity
The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

Jonathan Dai, TALON Editor-In-Chief

Jonathan Dai (12) is the editor-in-chief of TALON. This is his fourth year in journalism, and he was previously the photo editor. In his free time, he enjoys producing videos, taking photos and trying to be a designer. He also spends too much money on clothing and food. If not in the journalism room, he is likely to be found on the court—as he is a “certified baller.”

All content by Jonathan Dai
Niki Iyer runs in a track and field meet at Bellarmine College Preparatory in her junior year. She placed third in the 3200-meter at the state championships in Fresno.

Iyer on Fire

by Rose Guan, Wingspan Senior Staff Writer and Designer
June 11, 2017
Junior Niki Iyer runs in a track and field meet at Bellarmine College Preparatory. She placed third in the 3200-meter at the state championships in Fresno.

Junior Niki Iyer places third in state championships

by Alex Wang, Sports Editor
June 8, 2016
Members of the Class of 2015 throw their caps into the air as they celebrate their graduation from high school. The seniors will graduate this year at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga on May 19.

Graduation falls on weeknight, Priscilla Chan to be 2016 speaker

by Tiffany Wong, Reporter
May 8, 2016
JD-3248 (1)

Intel STS

by Maya Kumar
January 29, 2016
Intel Science Talent Search (STS) semifinalists Vineet Kosaraju (12), Sophia Luo (12), Sadhika Malladi (12), and Jonathan Ma (12) pose for a picture. Each year, Intel STS names 300 high school seniors nationwide as semifinalists, and offers each a $1,000 award, along with $1,000 to their school.

Four seniors named Intel Science Talent Search semifinalists

by Sahana Srinivasan and Tiffany Wong
January 6, 2016
Senior Daphne Liang swings her club at one of the last golf matches of this past season.

Girls golf reaches CCS after 10 years

by Justin Su, Assistant Sports Editor
November 30, 2015
A Harker player runs with the ball during the league championship game against Stellar Prep.

Varsity football loses league championship to Stellar Prep on senior night

by Justin Su, Assistant Sports Editor
November 2, 2015
Mathew Ho ('15) celebrates graduation as he throws his cap into the air. Preparing for college is a major step for most seniors, but the College Scorecard system fails to address the accuracy of the application process.

Congress’s College Scorecard falls short of students’ expectations

by Adrian Chu, Reporter
October 18, 2015
A throng of students roar after the Eagles score a goal. The people behind Harker’s Sports Supporters helped to provide pompoms for fans to cheer on athletes as well as promote the game on social media.

Harker Spirit undergoes change in structure to encourage participation

by Kathy Duan, TALON Student Life Editor
September 12, 2015
I stand knee high in the damp underbrush as I erect my tripod on the perimeter of the lake. As I set my settings, I catch myself staring not at the Palace itself, but at its distorted reflection in the lake.

Long exposures by night

May 26, 2015
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May 28, 2015
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May 28, 2015
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May 28, 2015
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May 28, 2015
I stand knee high in the damp underbrush as I erect my tripod on the perimeter of the lake. As I set my settings, I catch myself staring not at the Palace itself, but at its distorted reflection in the lake.

Long exposures by night

by Jonathan Dai, TALON Photo Editor
May 26, 2015
The Class of 2015 throw their caps in the air, signaling the end of the graduation ceremony. 186 seniors graduated from the upper school today.

Class of 2015 graduates at Saratoga’s Mountain Winery

by Elisabeth Siegel, Winged Post Editor in Chief
May 23, 2015

To Pimp a Butterfly Review – 5/5 stars

by Varun Baldwa
March 23, 2015
Duke beat out Wisconsin to claim the first place title with a score of 68 to 63 at the NCAA championship game tonight at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Students and faculty filled out brackets in early march predicting the result of the Division I college basketball tournament

How mad are you for March Madness?

by Jonathan Dai, TALON Photography Editor
March 19, 2015
Platon speaks to a member of the audience after the presentation. The famous photographer spoke at the Flint Center for Performing Arts about his work on Friday.

Internationally acclaimed photographer Platon presents at Flint Center

by Kshithija Mulam, Winged Post Photo Editor
February 22, 2015
Winged Post photo editor Kshithija Mulam (10) poses for a picture with photographer Platon backstage. The famous photographer spoke at the Flint Center for Performing Arts about his work on Friday.

Distinguished photographer Platon shares insights into photographic journey

by Kshithija Mulam, Winged Post Photo Editor
February 22, 2015
Keanu Forbes (12), Christian Williams (12), Sidhart Krishnamurthi (12), and Logan Drazovich (11) await the results of the coin toss. Harker won the homecoming game against Ribet Academy.

Harker football announces awards at annual banquet

by Ria Gandhi and Megy Appalaraju
December 11, 2014
Chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine addresses the crowd at the dedication ceremony, reflecting on his time coaching Girls' Lacrosse with Berry.

Community dedicates statue in Jason Berry’s honor

by Kavya Ramakrishnan, Winged Post Copy Editor
December 5, 2014
Alex Jang (12) sports a gray flannel scarf over his neutral v-neck sweater. His scarf complements the gray shown in his sweater.

A Man’s Guide to Thanksgiving Party Attire

by Jonathan Dai, TALON Photo Editor
November 19, 2014
Cantilena previews the upcoming Conservatory performance. The Conservatory will be performing this Thursday in the Nichols auditorium.

School Meeting Recap – 11/10

by Maya Jeyendran, Aquila Lifestyle Editor
November 11, 2014
Nate Kelly (9) makes the tackle as part of the Harker defense. Kelly was also responsible for an interception during the game.

Varsity football wins Homecoming game

by Trisha Dwivedi, Meilan Steimle, Megy Appalaraju, and Ria Gandhi
October 5, 2014
Seniors sit on the court in protest, preventing the juniors from facing the faculty. This year's annual dodgeball finals featured controversial calls and ended in a senior sit-in.

Dodgeball game ends with senior sit-in

by Jessica “Fred” Chang and Elisabeth Siegel
September 24, 2014
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Editorial: Dodging the controversy

by Winged Post and Aquila Editorial Staff
September 24, 2014
Juniors celebrate their victory of the seniors. This year's annual dodgeball finals featured controversial calls and ended in a senior sit-in.

Johnathon Keller (11) displays disbelief at a call from the referees. This year's annual dodgeball finals featured controversial calls and ended in a senior sit-in.

Juniors cheer as they are officially announced dodgeball champions. This year's annual dodgeball finals featured controversial calls and ended in a senior sit-in.

Hannah Bollar (12) locks on to her junior target. This year's annual dodgeball finals featured controversial calls and ended in a senior sit-in.

After storming into the gym, seniors gather in a circle and pump themselves up for their match against the juniors. This year's annual dodgeball finals featured controversial calls and ended in a senior sit-in.

Elisabeth Schick (9) watches for any stray balls. This year's annual dodgeball finals featured controversial calls and ended in a senior sit-in.

Namrata Vakkaladadda (12) takes part in last summer's glasses initiative for the Tanzanian community. She was one of the 11 students who went on the inaugural Tanzania trip.

Second annual Tanzania trip preview

May 16, 2014
Class Vice President candidate Ankita Sharma (10) presents her electoral speech at today's class meeting using a metaphor of a potato and carrot to relate to the class. Voting will be held during both lunches tomorrow.

Classes hold election speeches for voting tomorrow

by Daphne Liang, Reporter
April 23, 2014
GEO Multicultural Fair lures students

GEO Multicultural Fair lures students

by Jonathan Dai
March 26, 2014
Justin Young (12), president of the Innovation Club, explains the purpose of his club to newcomers, hoping to recruit new members to compete in Inventeams. The annual Club Fair allowed many different clubs to promote their clubs and let students sign up for the ones that interested them the most.

New clubs vie for attention at annual Club Fair

by Jonathan Dai
September 11, 2013
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