![“[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)
As the school year comes to a close, we want to extend our thanks to the Upper School community — for sharing personal stories, engaging with our content and reading our publications. To celebrate the memories we’ve created together, we’ve put together a photo slideshow highlighting the year’s special moments. Thank you for being part of our journey, and see you next year!
Through our lens: Harker 2024-25
May 25, 2025
Categories:
More to Discover
About the Contributors
Ram Batchu, TALON Photo Editor
Ram Batchu (11) is a Photo editor for the TALON Yearbook, and this is his third year on staff. This year, he looks forward to covering as many events as he can. In his free time, he enjoys watching tv and playing videogames.
Aryana Bharali, Humans of Harker Managing Editor
Aryana Bharali (12) is a Managing editor for Humans of Harker, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she looks forward to sharing the stories of the graduating class and interviewing different people on and off the campus. In her free time, she enjoys trying new coffee shops and listening to music.
Eva Cheng, Sports Editor
Eva Cheng (11) is a Sports editor for Harker Aquila and the Winged Post, and this is her second year on staff. This year, she hopes to inspire a greater enthusiasm for athletics in the Harker community through engaging stories with creative angles.
In her free time, she loves to play soccer, read and spend time with friends and 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.
Suhani Gupta, A&E/Lifestyle Editor
Suhani Gupta (11) is an Arts and Entertainment/Lifestyle editor for Harker Aquila and the Winged Post, and this is her third year on staff. This year, she looks forward to writing many articles and interviewing new people. In her free time, she loves to listen to music and talk to her friends.
Minal Jalil, Reporter
Minal Jalil (11) is a reporter for Harker Aquila, and this is her third year on staff. This year, she looks forward to interviewing a diverse set of people and telling their stories. In her free time, she enjoys reading, playing basketball, and watching movies and playing board games with her grandmother and cousins.
Sam Li, Reporter
Sam Li (10) is a reporter for Harker Aquila, and this is his second year on staff. This year, he looks forward to diving deeper into his interest in photography and exploring new angles in my writing. In his free time, he enjoys playing water polo and soccer, as well as getting involved in business related projects.
Isabella Lo, Aquila Managing Editor
Isabella Lo (12) is a Managing editor for Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she looks forward to learning more about multimedia and helping other reporters develop their writing. Outside of journalism, she loves to play basketball and read fantasy books.
Mendy Mao, Features Editor
Mendy Mao (11) is a Features editor for Harker Aquila and the Winged Post, and this is her third year on staff. This year, Mendy wishes to improve her interviewing skills. In her free time, she likes to read short stories and play the violin.
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.
Ashley Mo, STEM Editor
Ashley Mo (11) is a STEM editor for Harker Aquila and the Winged Post, and this is her third year on staff. This year, Ashley hopes to further connect with the journalism team and create impactful STEM pieces and pages. In her free time, Ashley enjoys playing golf and spending time with her friends.
Emma Milner, Aquila Editor-in-Chief
Emma Milner (12) is an Editor-in-Chief of Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Emma wishes to experiment with new story formats and grow closer to her fellow staff members. Outside of school, she plays badminton competitively, and in her free time, she likes to rewatch Suits and taste-test iced matcha lattes at new cafes.
Young Min, Winged Post Managing Editor
Young Min (12) is a Managing editor for the Winged Post, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she looks forward to making amazing newspaper page layouts and getting to know the new reporters better. In her free time, she loves to hang out with her friends, make puzzles and bake.
Sarah Mohammed, Winged Post Co-Editor-in-Chief
Sarah Mohammed (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of the Winged Post, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she is excited to help make beautiful issues of our print newspaper to share with the community and guide the younger members on staff in reporting and writing. Sarah loves cantaloupe, her little sister’s hugs and poems.
Lily Peng, Reporter
Lily Peng (10) is a reporter for Harker Aquila, and this is her second year on staff. This year, she looks forward to improving her photography skills, writing more concise and insightful articles and making friends in journalism. Outside of journalism, she likes to take 0.5 photos, read books and doodle over random things.
Caden Ruan, Reporter
Caden Ruan (11) is a reporter for Harker Aquila, and this is his second year on staff. This year, he looks forward to taking more photos and learning more about the Harker community through journalism. Outside of journalism, he enjoys playing basketball.
Lily Shi, News Editor
Lily Shi (11) is a News editor for Harker Aquila and the Winged Post, and this is her third year on staff. This year, Lily hopes to provide more varied and comprehensive news coverage and build connections with the journalism team. In her free time, she likes to dance, read and play with her dog.
Kairui Sun, Photo Editor
Kairui Sun (11) is the Photo editor for Harker Aquila and the Winged Post, and this is his third year on staff. This year, he looks forward to honing his photography skills and providing the best visuals he can bring to the publications. Outside of journalism, he enjoys playing the piano as well as volleyball.
Jonathan Szeto, STEM Editor
Jonathan Szeto (11) is a STEM editor for Harker Aquila and the Winged Post, and this is his third year on staff. This year, he hopes to improve his photography skills and interview more people around campus. In his free time, he enjoys playing piano and violin and learning more about aerospace.
Claire Tian, Reporter
Claire Tian (10) is a reporter for Harker Aquila, and this is her second year on staff. This year, she looks forward to improving her photography and hearing varied perspectives from the Harker community. In her free time, she likes dance, math, listening to podcasts and meandering walks into the sunset.
Heather Wang, Reporter
Heather Wang (10) is a reporter for Harker Aquila, and this is her second year on staff. This year, she looks forward to getting to know other members of the journalism community, meeting new people through interviews and trying out different styles of article writing. Outside of journalism, Heather likes to read, play the piano and listen to different genres of music.
Charlie Wang, Multimedia Editor
Charlie Wang (11) is a Multimedia editor for Harker Aquila, and this is his third year on staff. This year, he looks forward to broadening his scope of coverage and learning many new writing and filming techniques. In his free time, he enjoys drawing and competitive door opening.
Alison Yang, Aquila Editor-in-Chief
Alison Yang (12) is an Editor-in-Chief of Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she looks forward to bonding with everyone on staff and encouraging creative concepts. In her free time, she enjoys eating shaved ice and hanging out with her cat, Schrodinger.
Chelsea Xie, Reporter
Chelsea Xie (10) is a reporter for Harker Aquila, and this is her second year on staff. This year, she looks forward to becoming more involved in journalism, whether it be covering more events or working with upperclassmen on articles and design. Outside of journalism, she enjoys dancing for Harker Dance Company.
Cynthia Xie, Reporter
Cynthia Xie (10) is a reporter for Harker Aquila, and this is her second year on staff. This year, she looks forward to getting better at interviewing, improving her time management skills by meeting deadlines and taking better photos. In her free time, she likes to read and play soccer.
Connie Xu, TALON PDA Manager
Connie Xu (11) is the PDA Manager for the TALON Yearbook, and this is her third year on staff. This year, she looks forward to connecting with her peers and taking more photos over the year. In her free time, she enjoys singing, dancing, reading, hanging out with family and friends, watching Youtube and hanging out with my cat and dog.
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.
Claire Yu, Multimedia Editor
Claire Yu (11) is a Multimedia editor for Harker Aquila, and this is her third year on staff. This year, she hopes to improve her writing, videography and photography. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, reading and playing basketball.
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.
Tiffany Zhu, Sports Editor
Tiffany Zhu (11) is a Sports editor for Harker Aquila and the Winged Post, and this is her third year on staff. This year, she looks forward to bonding with the journalism team and reporting on exciting stories. In her free time, she enjoys baking and watching all genres of movies.