The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“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
"I like challenging myself to really, really high expectations and then surprisingly, somehow it works, and I think I have the most fun doing that. Rather than making a beginner thing, I wanna be the best .I wanna do the craziest thing first," senior Gabe Li said.
Humans of Harker: B-roll to your beat
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
Ashley Jiang

Ashley Jiang , Winged Post Photo Editor

Ashley Jiang (11) is the photo editor for Winged Post. This is her third year in the journalism program, and she was a reporter her freshman and sophomore years. Aside from journalism, she is the media director for Interact. In her free time, she enjoys reading, doing photography, and hanging out with her friends.

All content by Ashley Jiang
"I started doing my eyebrows at the tail end of my sophomore year and that was where I started figuring out that what people think doesn’t really matter all that much," Mona Lee (12) said. "Because everyone has a different idea of what your eyebrows should look like, who you should be, what you should be like, what you should look like. I kind of realized that at the end of the day I realized it doesn’t matter; the only opinion that matters is your own."

Humans of Harker: Mona Lee applies makeup and embraces confident self-expression

by Sahana Srinivasan, Winged Post Editor-in-Chief
May 29, 2018
Students discuss art pieces displayed in Nichols Atrium. The works of this year's AP Studio Art students were featured in an exhibit up earlier this year.

Artstravaganza displays Scholastic Art and Writing pieces in Nichols Atrium

by Sara Yen, Reporter
March 29, 2018
Director of performing arts Laura Lang-Ree rehearses with Downbeat. Students in performing arts classes had class in the new building starting Monday.

Students begin classes in RPAC facilities following its inauguration

by Anvi Banga, Nicole Chen, Michael Eng, and Ashley Jiang
February 6, 2018
Another year bites the dust

Another year bites the dust

by Nicole Chen, Kathy Fang, and Ashley Jiang
February 5, 2018
Selin Sayiner (12) shoots a free throw during the scrimmage against Santa Cruz High School. The score was reset after each quarter.

Varsity girls basketball scrimmages against Santa Cruz High School

by Sara Yen, Reporter
November 20, 2017
Student speaker Andy Semenza (12) delivers his presentation on evolutionary biology and overspecialization. Besides listening to the event's featured speakers, TEDx event attendees could also visit various company booths and learn more about their products.

Ideas worth spreading to the world: Students and families attend Harker’s annual TEDx talk

by Anna Vazhaeparambil and Sara Yen
November 16, 2017
Seniors listen as Harker alum Sheridan Tobin ('15) speaks about her college experience. The seniors gathered in Nichols Auditorium for their LIFE assembly, while the sophomores were in the auxiliary gym and the freshmen in Nichols Atrium.

Freshmen, sophomores, seniors participate in LIFE assemblies

by Zoe Sanders and Jin Tuan
November 7, 2017
Executive Director of Education at Anchor Distilling Co. and founder of beverage magazine Mutineer Magazine Alan Kropf addresses the importance of finding happiness in one's career. Kropf was one of five featured speakers at today's TEDx event.

TEDx speaker series hosts entrepreneurs, company representatives

by Varsha Rammohan, Reporter
November 4, 2017
Smoke from the ongoing fires in the North Bay color the Friday morning skies above the upper school burnt orange. Students, parents and faculty are invited to bring all donations Friday afternoon to either the lower, middle, or upper school campuses for Harker's "Stuff the Bus" drive.

Northern California wildfires: How to help

by Karina Chen, Rose Guan, Kaitlin Hsu, Ashley Jiang, and Tiffany Wong
October 17, 2017
The Cassini spacecraft makes a flyby around Titan, one of Saturn's moons. The spacecraft is set to plunge into Saturn's atmosphere early tomorrow morning.

Cassini spacecraft ends journey

by Ashley Jiang and Arya Tandon
October 12, 2017
Seniors and their Eagle Buddies enjoy lunch on Davis Field. Students were allowed to eat on the turf and on the bleachers facing Shah.

Seniors and sophomores attend first Eagle Buddies event of the school year

by Varsha Rammohan, Reporter
October 4, 2017
Senior Abha Patkar prepares for senior portraits in a corner of the gym. All seniors were asked to have their portrait taken for the TALON yearbook on Sunday.

Behind the Scenes: Seniors partake in annual senior portraits

by Kathy Fang and Ashley Jiang
September 13, 2017
From Package to Platter: Behind the scenes of kitchen staff

From Package to Platter: Behind the scenes of kitchen staff

by Nerine Uyanik and Ashley Jiang
September 6, 2017
“If I were to become a politician, I wouldn’t want to be someone who bowed under the pressure of the president or someone who is above me, I would want to be someone who stood up for what I thought was right and what I thought was constitutional, even if it got me fired or it caused me to lose power or money," Molly Wancewicz (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Molly Wancewicz speaks out through debate

by Ashley Jiang, Photo Editor
May 25, 2017
Baccalaureate student speaker Aditya Dhar (12) makes a joke during his speech. “As we go further and further down our own paths, our options start to narrow. We have to solidify what we want to study, We have to solidify what our plans are after graduation, what is we want to do in life, but the only way that you can set out on your own path is if you take all the opportunities," he said.

Seniors and juniors attend 2017 Baccalaureate ceremony

by Maya Kumar and Tiffany Wong
May 17, 2017
Students and teachers look on as the Green Team present their data collected from a previous survey about Meatless Monday. Many members of the Harker community attended the Meatless Monday forum spearheaded by the Green Team yesterday.

Green Team holds forum to discuss Meatless Mondays

by Ashley Jiang, Winged Post Photo Editor
March 15, 2017
Devin Keller (9) and Haley Keller (11) show off their dance moves during the salsa dancing competition held at La Noche Cultural. Both also performed in a dance routine in the talent show prior to the salsa dancing competition.

Spanish National Honor Society hosts annual cultural night

by Tiffany Wong, Aquila News Editor
March 10, 2017
Joelle Anderson (12) kicks the ball towards the goal line. She will play at Pepperdine University this fall for girls soccer.

Soccer players sign letters of intent

by Anjay Saklecha and Alex Wang
February 27, 2017
Trump announced that he believes reporters to be some of "the most dishonest human beings on earth" during a press conference at the CIA headquarters on Jan. 21. "As a student journalist, it's kind of depressing how combative [Trump]'s being towards the media, but as a citizen, I think it's very scary," Meilan Steimle (12), co-editor-in-chief of the Winged Post, said.

Trump vs. media: Media’s role shifts in the Trump administration

by Ashley Jiang and Nicole Chen
February 22, 2017
Cantilena, directed by Susan Nace, performed at the annual Holiday Show on Dec. 9.

Performing arts update (Issue 5)

by Anvi Banga, Reporter
February 21, 2017
Dr. Tonja Krautter, a clinical psychologist, spoke at the upper school in two assemblies, one for underclassmen and the other for upperclassmen, about setting personal boundaries in relationships.

Speaker discusses personal boundaries at school assembly

by Rashmi Iyer and Adrian Chu
February 3, 2017
Lyndsey Mitchell (12) lines up for a goal kick in last year's Kicks Against Cancer game. The boys and girls soccer teams played Eastside College Prep last Friday for this year's games.

Fighting cancer one kick at a time

by Anjay Saklecha and Ashley Jiang
January 24, 2017
Conservatory groups from the Upper, Middle, and Lower schools performed in the annual holiday show for students and faculty to enjoy on Friday, Dec. 9.

Conservatory groups perform in annual Holiday Show

by Helen Yang, Reporter
December 10, 2016
“I don’t really remember getting stage fright for any performance necessarily, but sometimes when I’m talking in front of large audiences as myself, I tend to get stage fright, which is kind of the opposite of most people. It’s much easier to be open and just in front of a large audience as someone else, as a character or as a singing, dancing and showy guy," Emre Ezer (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Emre Ezer expresses creativity through performing arts

by Kathy Fang, Reporter
November 28, 2016
Connie Miao (12) hits a backhand during practice. Connie was the only senior on the girls golf team this year.

Girls Tennis Fall Season Recap

by Neil Bai and Anjay Saklecha
November 20, 2016
Top five tips to stay warm and stylish this winter

Top five tips to stay warm and stylish this winter

by Ashley Jiang, Photo Editor
November 18, 2016
A conceptual model shows the developer plans for Vallco. Cupertino residents voted on the November ballot to decide whether revitalization of the Cupertino Vallco Shopping Mall will follow through.

Cupertino residents vote on the future of Vallco Mall

by Ashley Jiang and Natasha Maniar
November 17, 2016
“I tinker with whatever I can get my hands on. If I am in class, every once in awhile, I'll just pick apart a pen just for fun and put it back together. When I am at home, I will just build with whatever is around me. I'll just build something, whatever I have," Anthony Crook (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Anthony Crook connects robotics to his daily life

by Rashmi Iyer, Reporter
November 14, 2016
“To me, programming feels like a huge sandbox where you can do anything you want to fit any function and it’s only constrained by your own imagination. It’s also a pretty challenging and intellectually stimulating activity. It feels to me like a huge intricate puzzle that you have to scope out all the parts to and then you write code to fit every single function and integrate everything together perfectly so it’s both efficient and fits the thing you want to accomplish," Vedaad Shakib (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Vedaad Shakib programs robots

by Ashley Jiang, Photo Editor
November 7, 2016
Senior Alexander Lam speaks about his experience in finding happiness as a Harker student. TEDxHarkerSchool took place on Saturday, Oct. 15.

TEDxHarkerSchool 2016 features speakers, booths and mentors

by Nicole Chen and Zachary Hoffman
October 17, 2016
A squirrel satisfies its pre-lunch cravings with a healthy, vegan snack.

Squirrels of Harker

by Neil Bai and Ashley Jiang
October 11, 2016
Giants fans wear these orange jerseys on "Giants Friday" to support the team in the playoffs. The Giants look to keep their postseason run alive during their game tomorrow against the Cubs at AT&T Park.

San Francisco Giants look to continue postseason run against the Chicago Cubs at AT&T Park

by Trisha Dwivedi, Managing Editor
October 9, 2016
Jack Jia makes his speech for the position of Vice President during freshman student council elections. The results of the elections were announced today.

Freshman student council announced during school meeting

by Ashley Jiang and Maya Valluru
October 4, 2016
Freshmen walk from class at the end of the day on the first day of school. The new bell schedule was implemented on Aug. 22.

New block schedule implemented

August 27, 2016
Google's step-by-step guide explains how to vote in California. The new features are designed to help users register to vote.

Google Search feature helps voters register

by Ashley Jiang, Photo Editor
August 28, 2016
Led by spirit coordinator Edward Sheu (12), the senior class participates in their last scream-off of high school during the rally. Despite rainy weather, upper school students closed Spirit Week by competing in the annual Spirit Rally on Davis Field on April 22.

Drenched classes compete in pouring rain during rally

by Kaitlin Hsu and Ashley Jiang
May 9, 2016
Co-captain Natasha Mayor (12) runs while cradling the ball as two opponent players chase after her. The girls lost 7-20 to the Christian Brothers.

Girls lacrosse loses to Christian Brothers in home league game

by Ashley Jiang, Winged Post Photo Editor
April 29, 2016
Michael Moncton (12) practices his trumpet during the sectional rehearsals in class for the concert. "An Evening of Jazz" featured a total of four ensembles from the upper and middle school combined.

“An Evening of Jazz” concert features performances by upper and middle school jazz bands

by Ashley Jiang, Reporter
March 23, 2016
Spanish teacher Diana Moss shows off her moves during the salsa competition.

Spanish NHS hosts salsa dancing at cultural night

by Vivek Bharadwaj and Tiffany Wong
March 23, 2016
Vivian Wang (10) comes up for air during her 100 yard breaststroke. This was the second invitational and the fourth meet of the season.

Upper school swim team competes against other schools in invitational swim meet

by Ashley Jiang, Reporter
March 20, 2016
Madison Tomihiro (12) hangs up one of her pieces that she drew for her portfolio. The exhibition featured art works from a total of 25 students taking the AP course.

AP Studio Art exhibition showcases artworks from students’ concentration portfolios

by Ashley Jiang, Winged Post Photo Editor
March 3, 2016
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