Is it an A or D day? Where can I sign up for clubs? How many spirit points does my class have? What’s for lunch? With schedules, events, and announcements constantly changing, staying organized can often pose a challenge. As developer and administrator of Harker’s web development team, HarkerDev, Daniel Gergov (’25) applies his expertise in coding and full-stack development, working with frameworks like Express and Koa and languages like HTML and JavaScript, to build applications that streamline campus life and help students access information in just a few clicks.

Heading into high school with a knack for programming, Daniel looked for opportunities to work on development projects with fellow classmates. HarkerDev immediately caught his eye, with its myriad of applications that solve problems on campus, from displaying the daily bell schedule to tracking spirit points.

“As a frosh, I saw HarkerDev as an esteemed and selective organization that impacts everyone in the school,” Daniel said. “I told myself that I had to join no matter what, because it was the perfect organization for me.”

Eager to make the team, Daniel applied — and was rejected. Even still, he still saw HarkerDev as his path to initiative. To gain more experience, he worked on mini-projects in his free time, creating small extensions to make tasks like writing documentation more convenient for programmers like himself. With more under his belt, Daniel gave HarkerDev another shot and reapplied in 10th grade. This time, he got in.

“Looking back, when I applied frosh year, I got rejected because of a lack of experience,” Daniel said. “To improve, I made a lot of side projects to put in my portfolio. When I saw the decision email, I felt like my life was complete. I finally had the  opportunity to make apps for the school.”

In the past couple of years, Daniel has contributed to several software projects, but he especially found fulfillment in developing the authentication system for Harker Activities, a platform that helps students manage and join clubs on campus. The login functionality, although simple, proved critical in validating account identity and quickly found its role in other HarkerDev applications as well.

“Initially, I just wanted to work on the project that everyone recognized: Bell,” Daniel said. “However, while there, I branched out to newer projects, like the precursor to activities.harker.org, which was an attendance app. The authentication system made the most impact out of anything I’ve done, and that experience taught me that the best tools don’t necessarily have to be the most complicated.”

Just as his authentication system works in tandem with other functionalities to run websites smoothly, Daniel also collaborates heavily with his HarkerDev teammates, forming lasting relationships and tight bonds. Nelson Gou (’25), who has worked alongside Daniel in HarkerDev since his sophomore year, appreciates how he persists in his work and constantly looks for ways to overachieve and improve.

“A lot of times he tells me about issues that he encountered while working on apps, and he never gives up,” Nelson said. “There was the Harker announcements app, and it was old and outdated, and Daniel spent an entire summer rewriting the whole thing. He implemented a lot of extra features that he didn’t even need to do. He really goes the extra mile.”

Beyond web development, Daniel also strives to go above and beyond during his regular gym sessions. He particularly cherishes the bench press and takes joy in pushing himself to beat personal records. Working his way up from 125 pounds, he steadily hit higher and higher weight loads with practice and persistence. Most recently, he managed to lift 225.

“The gym serves as an anchor in my life, something I can fall back on and something that I can always progress in,” Daniel said. “225 is one of the golden numbers because it’s exactly two plates on each side. When I started, I never dreamed of doing 225, but I just kept progressing with micro improvements and eventually reached that goal.”

Close friend Aarav Borthakur (’25) noticed how Daniel’s industrious spirit drives his work forward. Day in and day out, Daniel dedicates time and effort to pursue every task to the best of his ability. Even if his projects don’t end up receiving recognition, he nonetheless gives it his all, tinkering with features and flow to make it as flawless as possible.

“What sets him apart from most people is that he does things on his own initiative, not because he has to do it for a college or anything,” Aarav said. “He makes a lot of projects on his own, and that’s something I really admire because Daniel is one of the few people who actually enjoys the things he does. He’s going to go far because of that.”

Daniel’s determination to go above and beyond also shines through in the classroom. Computer science teacher Anu Datar, who taught him for two years, particularly admires his analytical talent paired with an ardent passion for programming. She recalled the striking questions he would pose during office hours as well as the additional unrequired features that he incorporated into every lab.

“As a student, he is inquisitive, has a love for learning and has a lot of curiosity,” Datar said. “In Compilers, he wanted to do things slightly differently, so he asked me for special permission to make changes and added support for data types. Computer science is definitely one of his passions. I know he works on a lot of projects outside the classroom, and he’s shared a few of those with me. He’s a model computer science student.”

Reflecting on his high school days, Daniel notes that accomplishment in any setting, whether it’s developing applications for HarkerDev or hitting reps at the gym, often comes in small steps rather than in a large, drastic fashion. Rather than mulling over how to reach the top, he focuses on the current moment, climbing step by step on the staircase to success.

“Small improvements culminate into bigger goals,” Daniel said. “Tiny steps, like increasing the efficiency of an algorithm, adding new features, or beating personal records little by little, always lead to something better.”