![“[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)
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Humans of Harker editors-in-chief Sidak Sanghari and Jonathan Xue gave a presentation at JEANC Norcal Media Day at Palo Alto High School today, alongside Humans of Harker managing editor Ella Guo and Aquila editors Lily Shi, Tiffany Zhu and Kairui Sun.
The Humans of Harker project began in 2015, inspired by photographer Brandon Stanton’s “Humans of New York.”
The presenting team went over the three steps of the process, planning and logistics and the different methods of delivery: online, on Instagram and in the print Humans of Harker magazine. They provided examples of Humans of Harker portraits, as well as a video profile. While walking through the assignments process, presenters talked about how they match reporters to seniors they are not familiar with.
“It speaks to the community aspect of Humans of Harker,” Sidak said. “We’re not just a publication within our staff. We’re serving our school. Building bonds in our community and making new friendships is really what Humans of Harker is all about.”
Sasha Efimchik attended the presentation and enjoyed its depth in detail. He appreciated the process of taking environmental portraits in particular.
“I liked the structure of the presentation,” Sasha said. “Every person had a specific thing that they knew well about. They understood what they were talking about, so it was a really interesting presentation.”
Eastside College Prep’s features editor Rashel Naranjo Arellano recognizes the impact that projects like Humans of Harker can have on a school community.
“Seeing the different steps that our class can take to accomplish a much bigger project like the Humans of Your School program is very important,” Rashel said. “It’s cool to see that other schools have the idea that we should cover all students’ stories.”
Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled “Sasha Efimchik” as “Sasha Effernchik.” The article was updated on Oct. 29 to correct this error.
![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.jpg)
Sasha Efimchik • Oct 28, 2024 at 11:18 pm
Please spell my name right. It is Sasha Efimchik.
Sasha Efimchik • Oct 26, 2024 at 12:31 am
My name is spelled Sasha Efimchik. I spelled my name out for the interviewer and they took a photo of my name tag, so next time if someone isn’t sure of someone’s name, maybe don’t add their quote.