![“[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)
![“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)
![“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)
![“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)
![“[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)
Editors’ note: Welcome to the paper!
Eric Fang (12) and Gloria Zhang (12) are the editors in chief for the 2019-2020 Winged Post newspaper.
September 4, 2019
Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year! As we head into the new year, we aim to stay true to our value of constant improvement by reflecting on our role in the Harker community and ways that we can better serve this role.
In our redesign last year, we began a new generation of a design-forward newspaper centered on in-depth reporting. We reduced the number of news briefs in the paper and doubled down on news and feature stories that investigated local, national and global issues impacting our community. Along the same lines, we are kicking off Winged Post Volume 21 with an interconnected staff structure between all our publications —Winged Post, Harker Aquila, Humans of Harker and TALON—that will improve the ways in which we deliver news to the staff and student body.
Our first step to integrated content began this issue, where a couple of articles were published on Harker Aquila before their release in Winged Post. We are setting the stage for future issues of the paper where articles will be published online before they are published in print. Not only will this system help ensure our coverage is as timely as possible, the articles in Winged Post will be able to explore issues in greater depth while advancing our vision for innovative communication. As part of our goal of being a forward-thinking visual newspaper, Winged Post will emphasize strong story-telling through the confluence of traditional writing, infographics, illustrations and more.
To release this newspaper during the first week of school, editors have been working for the past few weeks to write and design a robust first issue of the paper packed with topics that affect all of us. Going forward, we strive to provide our readers with more voices from our community and more topics that reflect the passions of our audience.
To any new readers, we hope that you will come to think of our role in the student body as providing a voice to all in our community. If you are still considering your extra period option, we invite you to join the journalism program and explore the world of news or yearbook.
As always, we love to hear from our readers. For future issues, we plan to invite a few of you to critique the paper and give us meaningful feedback on how you think Winged Post can be improved. In addition, we welcome all suggestions, comments and opinions in-person or through our email, [email protected].
