![“[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)
Photo Slideshow Aug. 22
August 27, 2023
Categories:
More to Discover
About the Contributors
Margaret Cartee, Aquila Co-Managing Editor
Margaret Cartee 12) is a co-managing editor for Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Margaret wants to do more illustrations and meet all the new journalists in the program. In her free time, she likes sketching on paper, playing volleyball and sitting in chairs.
Gemma Chan, TALON Managing Editor
Gemma Chan (12) is a Managing editor for the TALON Yearbook, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she looks forward to meeting the new reporters and taking lots of photos. In her free time, she enjoys playing basketball, binge watching tv shows and hanging out with friends.
Mirabelle Feng, TALON Student Life Editor
Mirabelle Feng (12) is a Student Life editor for the TALON Yearbook, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she looks forward to creating unique designs for the yearbook and making more illustrations for Journalism as a whole. In her free time, she likes doing art and birdwatching and she may or may not have an OMORI addiction.
Charlie Folk, TALON Organizations Editor
Charlie Folk (11) is the co-organizations editor for the TALON Yearbook, and this is his third year on staff. This year, Charlie hopes to improve on his photography and writing skills to cover a variety of topics, but he also hopes to specifically work on pieces about the Conservatory. In his free time, he can be seen listening to music, reading, as well as playing lacrosse during the spring.
Vika Gautham, Co-Features Editor
Vika Gautham (11) is the co-features editor for Harker Aquila and the Winged Post, and this is her third year on staff. This year, Vika wishes to provide unique perspectives throughout her articles while engaging and informing readers. In her free time, she likes painting and hanging out with friends.
Ariana Goetting, Winged Post Co-Editor-in-Chief
Ariana Goetting (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of the Winged Post, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Ariana looks forward to designing creative page layouts for the Winged Post, getting to know everyone on staff better and taking more photos. Outside of the journalism room, she enjoys drinking overpriced iced coffees, oil painting and watching movies with her family.
Victor Gong, Winged Post Editor-in-Chief
Victor Gong (12) is an Editor-in-Chief for the Winged Post, and this is his fourth year on staff. This year, he hopes to experiment with unique page designs, cover more events, explore data journalism and get to know new reporters. In his spare time, he enjoys playing piano & saxophone, designing games, cooking, and walking his dog.
Katerina Matta, Winged Post Editor-in-Chief
Katerina Matta (12) is an Editor-in-Chief of the Winged Post, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she looks forward to experimenting with design and getting to know the staff. In her free time, she enjoys playing beach volleyball and doing crosswords.
Kinnera Mulam, Winged Post Co-Editor-in-Chief
Kinnera Mulam (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of the Winged Post, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Kinnera hopes to get to know all the new reporters and create fresh designs for the Winged Post. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, trying new snacks and bothering other staff members.
Chayce Milheim, TALON Editor-in-Chief
Chayce Milheim (12) is an Editor-in-Chief of the TALON Yearbook, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she looks forward to creating a book unlike any other book made before. In her free time, she enjoys playing lacrosse and riding her horse, Tommy.
Aishani Singh, Aquila Managing Editor
Aishani Singh (12) is a Managing editor for Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she looks forward to interacting more with the school community and covering more school spirit events. In her free time, she enjoys listening to any genre of music she can get her hands on and watching 2000's TV shows.
Ananya Sriram, Winged Post Co-Managing Editor
Ananya Sriram (12) is a co-managing editor for the Winged Post, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Ananya hopes to bond more with members of journalism staff and explore creative page designs to modernize Winged Post and help the paper find its essence. In her free time, she enjoys eating spicy food, curating a new monthly Spotify playlist or taking sunset photos.
Claire Su, TALON Co-Editor-in-Chief
Claire Su (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of the TALON Yearbook, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Claire hopes to cover a broader variety of events around school and explore more concepts in graphic design. In her free time, she enjoys painting, reading books of all genres, and trying out new friendship bracelet designs.
Lindsey Tuckey, TALON Conservatory Editor
-Lindsey Tuckey (11) is the co-conservatory editor for the TALON Yearbook, and this is her third year on staff. This year, she hopes to explore people's stories while improving her photography and writing skills. In her free time, she enjoys reading and learning about new scientific discoveries.
Olivia Xu, Humans of Harker Co-Editor-in-Chief
Olivia Xu (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of Humans of Harker, and this is her fourth year on staff. She is excited to celebrate the Class of 2024 and collaborate with everyone on staff, and she hopes to build a community excited about storytelling. In her free time, Olivia enjoys crocheting gifts for her friends, taking walks, solving fun puzzles and binge-reading Humans of New York.
Jonathan Xue, Humans of Harker Editor-in-Chief
Jonathan Xue (12) is an Editor-in-Chief of Humans of Harker, and this is his third year on staff. This year, he looks forward to telling the stories of the Class of 2025 and designing the publication's in-print magazine. In his free time, he enjoys running, playing poker and chasing the eccentricities of life.
Grant Yang, TALON Co-Academics Editor
Grant Yang (11) is the co-academics editor for the TALON Yearbook, and this is his third year on staff. Grant is looking forward to designing his pages and taking photos at more events this year. By night, he partakes in recreational Wolfram Mathematica and insists that torque is a bivector.
Ella Yee, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief
Ella Yee (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Ella hopes to continue bonding with the journalism staff and highlighting diverse perspectives within the local community. In her free time, she loves to dance, drink matcha lattes and watch Kdramas.
Brandon Zau, Photo Editor
Brandon Zau (12) is the photo editor for Harker Aquila, and this is his fourth year on staff. This year, Brandon hopes to celebrate his senior Class of 2024 peers and to tell the stories of the Harker community through meaningful photos and coverage. In his free time, Brandon enjoys taking candid pictures of his friends, listening to music and playing baseball.
Claire Zhao, Winged Post Managing Editor
Claire Zhao (12) is a Managing editor for the Winged Post, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she looks forward to meeting new staff and experimenting with page design. In her free time, she enjoys wildlife photography, collecting cute stationery and ranting about her favorite media.
Kevin Zhang, Aquila Co-Managing Editor
Kevin Zhang (12) is a co-managing editor for Harker Aquila, and this is his third year on staff. This year, Kevin hopes to expand the scope of sports content and collaborate with more staff members in journalism. In his free time, Kevin enjoys playing basketball, pursuing photography and drawing in pencil (he finds shading particularly satisfying).