It’s human nature to gravitate towards that which comes easily. For senior Emma Milner, however, her life has been defined by a conscious choice to pursue the opposite. From nights spent editing in the journalism room to long hours on the badminton court, her decision to forgo comfort in favor of challenge has proved inherently difficult, but within that struggle, Emma has found the experience immensely rewarding.

“If I did something that didn’t challenge me, that didn’t have hurdles to overcome, then I don’t think that would ever top the satisfaction that I personally get when it starts out challenging, but you work hard and you get wherever you get,” Emma said.

To that end, Emma joined journalism in frosh year. As she became more entrenched in the program, Emma, who considered herself an introvert at the time, became increasingly involved in journalism’s community-facing nature. Between interviews, articles and podcasts, Emma found herself frequently interacting with those around her, often unfamiliar.

“Journalism is meaningful because it changed me as a person,” Emma said. “It made me more open to being involved in something more than just myself and just not being so introverted. I like thinking that my actions can actually have some impact on other people and it’s not just about what I can do for myself, but also what I can do for a community that has already done so much for me — it’s like reciprocating the effort.”

As she continued connecting with others and telling their stories, Emma began to find joy in the process. While the initial interactions were a step out of her comfort zone, the ensuing sense of community and meaning that she discovered, both within journalism and the school, affirmed her decision to stick with the program.

On one occasion, as Emma was assigned to write a sports piece on an alumni, she reached out to a professional basketball player, previously from Harker, on a whim. Though she fully expected no response, within a week, she found herself with an interview, one that her genuine enthusiasm and interest extended into a conversation lasting several hours. Seeing just how fulfilling and possible such conversations could be only further cemented Emma’s realization that journalism was indeed right for her.

“I took away things from what he was saying that I could apply to my own life, and I wasn’t doing it just for the story, but I actually internalized some of the things he said,” Emma said. “Then, after I wrote it, I just sent it to him, and he emailed me back and was like, ‘Wow, that was the best article about me that has ever been written.’ To date, that’s probably the most meaningful interview I’ve ever had.”

Having served the past year as Editor-in-Chief for Harker Aquila, Emma leads the program with the same love she held as a reporter. From mentoring fellow journalists to ensuring that a sense of community remains at the forefront of every story, Emma’s commitment and care shines through. Close friend and Winged Post Editor-in-Chief senior Katerina Matta cherishes these qualities, admiring how they extend even into their friendship.

“She very, very much puts her all into everything she does,” Katerina said. “She genuinely cares about things — when things aren’t going well, she will be upset, not because she worries about the result but because she wants to put her best foot forward. It’s really valuable to have that in a friend because that means that she’ll put her all into your friendship.”

While the publication has won multiple awards during Emma’s time leading the program, her focus has never been about that. Rather, the process itself, from making others feel seen to telling stories that matter, is what she truly cares about. In all the effort Emma invested into journalism, she merely hopes that others can find a similar trace of meaning in each story she publishes.

“Even though I might put in more effort than maybe anyone will ever recognize, it’s not about that,” Emma said. “You can’t always expect to be rewarded for all your work, but at the same time, if you get a little bit of appreciation, if you know deep inside that you worked the best that you could and that you brought everything you could, I feel like that’s enough. That’s what makes what I do worth it.”

That same mentality extends into Emma’s love for badminton. Though she’s played badminton competitively for some time, throughout, Emma has remained less interested in results, and more on whether she’s able to accomplish her goals.

“For me it’s not so much win or lose — that’s too binary of a way to look at it,” Emma said. “What are you going to do if you lose? What are you going to do if you win? That’s just the result. Go beyond that. Even if you lose, if you implemented what you were working on so hard for the past 6 months, I feel like that’s worth it.”

Since she began the sport later than many of her peers, initially Emma often struggled with self-doubt, worrying if she could match the skill of players in her age group. Now, this concern has proven but another challenge Emma has since overcome.

“I realized that it’s not about all these other people and what they’re going to achieve,” Emma said. “I think shifting the perspective to ‘what can you do yourself to get to that point’ is how you’re going to have more confidence in yourself. When you actually start spending more time doing that instead of thinking about all these other people, you’re going to see that you can actually get to the next level if you just focus on yourself.”

For those around her, this mindset of self-improvement and growth remains an inspiration. Mala Raghavan, Emma’s AP Chemistry teacher in junior year and self-proclaimed “therapist,” carries the same admiration for Emma and cherished watching her grow over the years.

“She’s actually amazing because she does a lot of other things which I didn’t know — she’s always there taking photographs and videos for journalism,” Dr. Raghavan said. “She’s very humble, doesn’t show off or say anything, but I always see her all the time doing those other things, so it was fun to have her in the class because I could see her actually growing as well.”

Even beyond her extracurriculars, Emma’s consistent focus and diligence is apparent. Close friend senior Anika Pallapothu admires Emma’s ability to chart her own course through life, irrespective of external factors.

“She’s always focused on achieving her goals; she’s really organized and self determined,” Anika said. “Even if someone else may be doing the same thing, she doesn’t compare herself. She just goes and forges her own path.”

As Emma looks to her future, she patiently awaits the next challenge yet to tackle. After all, with her work ethic by her side, and her past accomplishments a reminder of all she has overcome, all that’s left to do is find her next adventure.

“For me, half-doing something is probably the most irritating, and I try to internalize that as much as possible whenever I’m doing something,” Emma said. “I want to complete it fully, and that doesn’t mean reaching some result, but it means knowing that I put as much as I could give to whatever it is that I’m doing.”