On Aug. 23, 2016, Anthony Xu (12) took his first step inside the journalism room. After getting lost on the unfamiliar high school campus, he was 40 minutes late for his first yearbook class. Walking in, Anthony expected to be greeted with ice-cold judgment. Instead, the class embraced Anthony with smiles and warm “hello”s. That was when Anthony knew he had found his family for the next four years. 

Whether speaking to parents during Back to School Days or conversing with freshmen on the first day of school, Anthony has told his story of being late and immediately welcomed countless times. 

“There’s a reason why we call ourselves ‘Talon Fam’ or ‘T-Fam,’” Anthony said. “Everyone has always been just so welcoming and those moments have always stuck with me in the back of my head.”

Now, four years later, Anthony finds himself at the head of his newfound family as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Talon yearbook with Emily Chen (12). Together with Emily, Anthony leads the yearbook staff of over 20 writers, designers and editors to produce a 240-page yearbook commemorating the school year for the Harker community. 

When asked to describe her Co-Editor-in-Chief, Emily praised his ability to mentor young reporters and maintain a positive vibe in the journalism room. 

“I think he genuinely cares so much about both the yearbook and the staff, and you can completely see that when he works or talks with other people,” Emily said. “His ideas when we work together are great too. He is just an overall amazing leader.” 

Anthony grew into his current confident and gregarious self over the past four years. In fact, in his freshman year, Anthony would have never dreamed of leading a staff of this size. 

“When I joined [yearbook] my freshman year, I really looked up to all my editors, especially the seniors, and I admired all the work they were doing and their leadership,” Anthony said. “At that time, looking at myself, I didn’t think I had the confidence to even go and speak to the entire class, even if they were some of my closest friends. It was nerve-wracking.” 

Anthony attributed his quietness to a fear of being judged by others. 

“Even though I remember often trying to step out of my comfort zone and socialize, I was still extremely shy,” Anthony said. “I remember I would say bye to my friends and walk straight home almost every day as soon as the bell rang.”

Anthony’s shyness did not hold him back from being there for others. Being new to Harker, close friend David Feng (12) appreciated Anthony’s warm and accepting personality when they first met in their freshman year. 

“He was definitely the quiet type,” David said. “I actually got along really well with him because I’m pretty talkative, and one of Anthony’s greatest qualities is that he is a great listener. Not a lot of people have that trait.” 

Although he characterized himself as quiet, Anthony by no means lacks self-expression, especially through art. He often favors taking the time to introspect before speaking his thoughts aloud, and art allows him to contemplate the world around him. 

“For me, art is an escape for the stress of my academics and school in general,” Anthony said. “It’s also a way for me to get my ideas down on paper – to nonverbally say my thoughts.” 

Ellen Austin, Anthony’s yearbook adviser, believes that Anthony guides staff members in his own unique way through his artistic skills, inspiring them to create alongside him. 

“At the [Sir John Soane] museum in London, Anthony and a group of kids were all doing different sketches, but Anthony was leading the charge,” Austin said. “I love the way he leads by example. He believes in art. He’s very gifted in it. And he hasn’t hidden his artistic talent.”

Through the course of working with dozens of yearbook staff members as a reporter in his freshman and sophomore years and the Academics editor his junior year, Anthony believes that his T-Fam helped him branch out, becoming more confident and outgoing. 

“I think I really started to grow more and more in my sophomore year,” he said. “I started to learn more and more about how to do an interview correctly for example, and how to actually communicate with your page partners. Through this, I grew in confidence as well.” 

At the same time, Anthony also found himself increasingly involved with the school community and those around him. 

“I also started to do more with my friends at school and I started to be more social in my sophomore year,” Anthony said. “I think that was the crucial part – yearbook’s role in everything going on at the time.”

Through his transition, Anthony strove to keep much of his personality, including characteristics like compassion and kindness, constant. In turn, these traits aided him in excelling as a leader on the yearbook staff. 

“For me, I found out that kindness goes a long way in building relationships, and keeping relationships,” Anthony said. “It helps in social situations and work. But most importantly, being kind to other people, even the little things like holding a door open helps me so much. It just makes me so happy knowing I was kind to someone, and that they appreciated it. And there’s no feeling in the world that can compare to that.”

David appreciates that while Anthony’s personality has changed over their high school years, Anthony has never lost the passion he infuses in his conversations with friends, discussing topics ranging from basketball to politics. 

“Anthony has always been the one I trusted when I wanted to talk about personal issues or even the NBA,” David said. “He’s always open to anything you want to do or talk about.”

Close friend Brandon Lin (12), who has known Anthony primarily as a teammate on the soccer team, feels confident that Anthony will always be the kind and respectful person he is now, no matter how much he changes and grows in the future. 

“I’ve known Anthony for two years and he’s become so much more self-assured,” Brandon said. “I know that he’ll be the kind of person that’s well-liked no matter where he ends up because he’s understanding and compassionate and he’s a really committed friend.”