![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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)
![Winged Post Editor-in-Chief Katerina Matta and Managing Editor Young Min were selected as first place winners from a pool of around 2,000 students. “This page [shows] how much we paid attention to detail and how much we pushed ourselves to ensure the best quality that we could,” Young said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_4254-900x1200.jpeg)
2024-25 Winged Post Editor-in-Chief Katerina Matta (12) and Managing Editor Young Min (12) placed first in the Single Page Layout category to represent California at the 2025 National Federation of Press Women National High School Communications Contest on Wednesday.
Katerina and Young were selected as first place winners from a pool of around 2,000 high school journalists, marking the first time in Harker journalism history where students have claimed a national-level first place in this contest. Their award came with a $100 prize and an invitation to the National High School Luncheon, held during the NFPW National Conference on Sept. 13 in Golden, Colo.
“This page [shows] how much we paid attention to detail and how much we pushed ourselves to ensure the best quality that we could,” Young said. “We tried out so many different things. Even if we had something good, we tried our best to see what we could do to make it better, and not just say, ‘We have it now, let’s just roll with it and finish it up.’”
Their winning submission, titled “Put your hands up for Harker Day,” celebrated Harker’s annual community-wide event and was the front page of the second Winged Post issue of the 2024-25 school year. The layout featured a half-circle composition with five photographs capturing key moments from the day, from performing arts shows to the tug-of-war competition.
Director of Journalism Whitney Huang explained how the Winged Post staff examined a variety of print formats when brainstorming the page design.
“Whether it be looking at other newspapers for inspiration, or existing magazines and even yearbooks, this year we really searched through all sorts of different types of mediums,” Huang said. “We were fascinated with this idea of moving from 2D to 3D. We really wanted photos to feel like they could almost pop out at you.”
The spread’s most eye-catching element was a dominant image of football player Jackson Powell (11) jutting out of the frame, creating a “larger than life” effect intended to reflect the energy and excitement of the day. Judges praised the page’s creative visuals, “clean approach” and effective combination of “constraint and breakout.”
Originally conceived as a clock-shaped design to mirror the full-day aspect of Harker Day, the layout went through several revisions. Katerina and Young ultimately chose a cleaner, more image-focused design that enhanced the visual impact of the page. Huang emphasized the importance of originality and determination when pursuing design.
“We don’t know what we’re going to try, and that’s the thing that I really want to instill in my students, just the feeling of [squeezing] out your creative juices,” Huang said. “If we look beyond the status quo for refinement, it’s almost setting a new standard or pushing the envelope, and that’s where it’s going into uncharted waters. Let’s see what we can do and then make it happen. Put it out into the world and see how it goes.”
To reach the national stage, Katerina and Young’s entry first advanced through a competitive selection process at the California Press Woman’s High School Communications Contest, where it placed first in the state. The design is also considered for the Julie Hoffman Memorial Best of the Best Award, which is awarded to a single outstanding entry out of all the first place national winners. Recipients of this award receive $250, a certificate and the opportunity to speak at the National High School Luncheon.
In addition to Katerina and Young’s award, Harker TALON also earned top honors at the national competition, placing second in the Yearbook Copywriting section for a page on Harker’s fall play headlined “Forget Us Not.” TALON Editor-in-Chief Yifan Li (12) designed and edited the page, while Academics Editor Charlie Folk (12) and Sports Editor Katie Tcheng (11) reported the copy.
These national awards mark an important milestone in the Harker journalism program. Katerina dedicated the award to both her and Young’s teamwork as well as the collaborative innovation of the Winged Post staff.
“We’re both really proud of how all of our staff came together,” Katerina said. “We had a lot of different elements going on, from the actual people writing the content of the brief to all of the photographers, especially since Harker Day is such a long event and there’s so many different things happening at once. Being able to put everyone’s work together and synergize it all and win an award for it is a really warm experience — it makes me really proud of us as a staff.”
