The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
Campus leadership representatives gather for the year's first CLC Town Hall. Despite an audience of 5, student leaders viewed the Town Hall as an important first step for complete transparency.
Campus Leadership Coalition unites for first town hall meeting
Samaara Patil (11) dances in the Vegas-themed Aux Gym during the Homecoming dance. Students submitted song requests through a Google Form prior to the event.
Students celebrate a night of music at annual homecoming dance
Honor council representatives Linda Zeng (12) and Suhana Bhandare (12) share a brief overview about Honor Week. Each day next week will be focused on emphasizing a value from the Honor Code.
School Meeting 10/20: GSA, HELM Theme reveal and Campus Life Coalition Town Hall
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.
Club Corner: Students learn to pronounce non-English words at Language and Linguistics Club Workshop
Chinese National Honors Society president Grace Fu hands a moon cake to a student. Moon cakes are widely consumed on Mid Autumn Festival and symbolize fullness and unity.
National Chinese Honors Society brings Mid-Autumn Festival culture to campus
Humans of Harker: Multi-disciplined, multi-dimensional
Humans of Harker: Multi-disciplined, multi-dimensional
Humans of Harker: Continuous and differentiable
Humans of Harker: Continuous and differentiable
Humans of Harker: Power in profiles
Humans of Harker: Power in profiles
Humans of Harker: Widening the aperture
Humans of Harker: Widening the aperture
Humans of Harker: Sharing stories, striking serves
Humans of Harker: Sharing stories, striking serves
Humans of Harker: Cooking with creativity
Humans of Harker: Cooking with creativity
“There's a lot of value in every moment and everyone around you. I appreciate people who just appreciate the little things. For me, I feel like everyone you meet can teach you a little bit, and that's something that I've really internalized over the years. I think that's part of why I like being around people and different communities so much. Because in each of these communities, you can learn so many different things from everyone," Olivia Xu ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Purpose towards progress
“I get to choose how much effort and detail I put in, and that’s what you’re going to see in the end. I love that you can see the truth on paper. A lot of my work is in black and white, so I can’t rely on color to cover it up or make it more interesting — I can only rely on my skill and willingness to go into the studio and add to my piece," Katelyn Zhao ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Envisioning the everyday
"I used to think that I have to keep doing dance just because it's what I’m known for. But now I’ve realized there’s beauty behind all the madness that happens. And it’s now a part of me, so not doing dance or not having Legos is like I’m losing a part of my identity," Luke Mehta ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Building with style
“Why not? So many things are very foreign or unknown to us, but there’s not much to lose by just trying things. I initially wasn’t very comfortable with DECA, especially with impromptu, but the community really helped me grow out of that. And DECA is now one of my top high school memories. Just giving things a try is really worth it, and if it fails, the worst thing that can happen is you just try something else," Claire Luo ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: It’s all in the details
"Being a lifer, I really want to put my knowledge to use. Being a TEDx speaker is a really big honor in and of itself, but to be able to actually address the Harker community was really important to me because I wanted to have an impact on the place that I've been at for 13 years," Arissa Huda ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Prescribing change
"I’ve learned discipline: practicing a lot and then knowing what your strengths are, knowing where to improve. That discipline is definitely going to stay with me. If I’m trying to get a big piece of work done in general when I'm interested in it, I'll stop at nothing to reach my goals," Linette Hoffman ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Artistry in motion
"I have this philosophy with theater. I wholeheartedly believe that my life was made for the stage, and all my make or break moments have happened there. While some people learn best through lectures or visuals, I learn best from having a spotlight on me," Zubin Khera ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Scripts to success
"One of the most important things for me about performing is its transformative power. There was one concert where we were singing this commission about gun violence, followed by a piece about climate change, a piece about the Holocaust. Watching the audience's expressions and how they reacted to the music we were singing was the first time that I was like, ‘Whoa, music has the power to change lives and engender positive change,’” Sawyer Lai ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Symphony of spirit
"It’s been fun getting to know the chefs at La Mar, their team and how different cultural influences blend together. For example, they make ceviche, which is a traditional Peruvian dish, but they infuse it with many different cultures. They have a version of their ceviche which is inspired by African tastes and spices, and they also have a Japanese form of that same ceviche dish. I think it’s interesting to watch how these fusion dishes form," Alex Lan ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Flavors of knowledge
Prakrit Jain ('22) searches for new animal species to help the environment and wildlife.
Humans of Harker: Scorpion spotter
Arnav Gupta ('22) moves a DNA construction.
Humans of Harker: Coding for a cause
“[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.
Humans of Harker: Blast of creativity
"Every single person I've interviewed for Humans of Harker has said one killer quote that has stuck with me even through four years of high school, and I think I really do internalize those messages. There are nuances in every single person's experience that makes it unique to them and also makes it a good lesson for everyone else. It's just amazing to see how much wisdom every single person at Harker has, and it's fascinating to learn about those stories," Erica Cai ('22) said.
Humans of Harker: Harmony in humanity
“Something I took away from baseball is that there's always the opportunity to bounce back when things don't go particularly right. Even the best hitters only go one for three, so being able to push through that is one of the most important parts of the game. Being able to identify what goes wrong and learning from that is important to being able to find success in the future," Mark Hu ('22) said.
Humans of Harker: The perfect pitch
Humans of Harker: Perseverance on par
Humans of Harker: Perseverance on par
It's been obviously rough, turning on the news and seeing another death, seeing another acquittal every single time … but, ‘How much can I do?’ is the question I'm asking myself. ‘How much can I help, and what impact can I have?’” Brian Pinkston ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: For the future and the present
“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.
Humans of Harker: Leading with DECA-cation
Class of 2021: Humans of Harker compilation, part three
Class of 2021: Humans of Harker compilation, part three
“I feel really good about myself when I'm relaxed and enjoying the world. There’s so much to learn about the world and so many ways to do so," Daniel Wang ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: Mapping the unknown
"I'm the person that always has a plan for everything. And then I have backups for the plan, and I have backups for the backups," Nicole Chen ('19) said.
Humans of Harker: Calendars for a cause
"I don’t ever intend on letting the internal love of life that I have leave me. As I grow up and I maintain my love for the random things I do, I know I’ll be happy– and hopefully people around me will be, as well," Mathew Mammen ('19) said.
Humans of Harker: Jack of all trades, master of fun
Humans of Harker: To dance, to feel
Humans of Harker: To dance, to feel
"The more serious side, people will never see. You'll never see who's behind one of these websites that people may be using," Neil Ramaswamy (12) said. "Several freshmen have approached me like, 'hey, you're the really funny guy at school meeting' and I'm like 'hey, yeah, nice to meet you' and at the same time they might be using an application that I've written not knowing that it's me. I kind of get that personal satisfaction knowing that there is a serious side to me, you just don't know about it."
Humans of Harker: Dueling with duality
Humans of Harker: Humanity in art
Humans of Harker: Humanity in art
“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.
Humans of Harker: Neymika Jain finds balance in life
“A lot of the time, when I’m out at nail salons, nailers ask me if I‘m Vietnamese. I say yes, but they say that I don’t speak the language and have never been back to Vietnamese, so am I really? I always felt disconnected, like I would be Vietnamese-American but never Vietnamese. When I went to Vietnam for the first time, it brought me closer to my culture. I realized I shouldn’t view myself as a different. I have to see Vietnamese-American and Vietnamese as one and the same," Haley Tran (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Haley Tran values her cultural identity
“One time, I was hiking up this giant off-trail path, and this is going to make me sound like a complete hippy, but what I was thinking at the moment was that every single tree out there must have had some sort of backstory. Even when I was walking to Shah, there was this tree right next to the building, and I was like, ‘Maybe this tree had a lot of other tree friends, but then this building came up and they had to get cut down.’ That made me pretty sad. So, when I was coming up with backstories for trees, it reminded me of my childlike innocence of playing pretend or playing with my stuffed animals because I thought my imagination would never run as wild as it once did. But, this experience made me feel happy because it’s something that I’ve lost, and I feel like I gained some of it back," Aashish Jain (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Aashish Jain finds inspiration in painting through watching Bob Ross videos
“For me, robotics has always been a great way to learn about how to build things and how things work. Honestly, that is the reason why I love robotics. When you see everything working, you look at it and say 'I helped make this happen,' which is really really gratifying," Andrew Tierno (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Andrew Tierno reflects on his passion for robotics
“A lot of being a choreographer is about digging deep, understanding, and finding out which event leads to the next, which is basically what science is. You would take a circuit and break it apart to understand each of the components, and you would do that to a song,” Sneha Bhetanabhotla (‘17) said.
Humans of Harker: Sneha Bhetanabhotla learns to connect robotics and dance
“I can be serious, and I care a lot about a lot of things, but I also just like having fun and people feeling comfortable being their true selves,” Isabella Spradlin (12) said. “You don't have to be one-sided — you can have different sides of your personality, and different moods.”
Humans of Harker: Isabella Spradlin gleans insight from sisterhood
“This is like a melting pot of Cupertino, Lynbrook, Saratoga, some people from De Anza, so you meet all kinds of people,” Rahul Mehta (12) said. “Half the time I’m not even playing with my friends, so I’m playing with random people. You start off in the beginning a bit wary of each other, and then by end you’re playing like they’re your friends. It’s kind of gradual. Like after a really cool play, you’ll high five each other, and that’s how it all begins.”
Humans of Harker: Rahul Mehta befriends others through banter
"People are always debating, you know, ‘should I go up to a higher weight or not?’ And I’ll just yell, ‘do it, you won’t,’" Tiffany Shou (12) said. "And then, you know, it’s like that challenge, and so it always pushes them pick that higher weight, and then they can accomplish it, so it’s even more gratifying."
Humans of Harker Video: Tiffany Shou pushes her limits in the weight room
“First, I start at my house,” Sparsh Chauhan (12) said. “Then, I turn on Saratoga, and it’s always crowded with traffic and stuff. That’s when I’m setting the music, checking the tire pressure, the gas. After downtown, the road gets smooth, which is when I put the windows down. I go all the way down until there’s a dip and then I go back. Even when I have stuff to do, I drive that same route every day. I don’t have to take directions. I know all the traffic times; I know exactly where I’m going.”
Humans of Harker: Sparsh Chauhan takes pride in his work
“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.”
Humans of Harker: Angel Cervantes chases his goals
“[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.
Humans of Harker: Learning to fall
“You just have to go for it. You think, 'In the future, if I think back and regret it, is that how I want to end up — or would I rather just try something and see what happens?' Usually, it turns out well,” Montek Kalsi (’20) said. 
Humans of Harker: All fun and games
“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.
Humans of Harker: Leadership and love
Humans of Harker: Grit and grind
Humans of Harker: Grit and grind
Humans of Harker: Artistic nonconformity
Humans of Harker: Artistic nonconformity
The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“You have to try because otherwise you won’t succeed for sure. If you don’t try, you’re always going to keep wondering... What if? What if? But if you try it, you will never have a what if because you actually tried everything. I tried robotics. I was a sophomore, and I didn’t really know if trying a new thing would work because I was always that one music kid… I don’t think I would’ve had as clear a vision of what I wanted to do with my life without robotics because I would’ve never known that I loved it," Elena Bronder-Chang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Elena Bronder-Chang pursues robotics

by Devanshi Mehta, TALON Business Manager • December 13, 2016

Ever since she can remember, Elena Bronder-Chang (12) was known as “that music kid.” She sang and played both the violin and the viola, starting as early as second grade. But in sophomore year, she...

“I used to care so much about what people thought, but as I got older, I just said, ‘Honestly, who cares?’ I realized that the stuff I did, people seemed to not care about it; they wouldn’t judge me for it, and if they did, they weren’t people I wanted in my life," Chelsie Alexander (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Chelsie Alexander gains confidence by emulating independent women

by Trisha Dwiveldi, Managing Editor • December 12, 2016

The theme song of Chelsie Alexander’s life is “Independent Woman, Part 1” by Destiny’s Child. And as an adventurous and creative person, she’s currently writing Part 2. As per Destiny’s...

"Japanese [culture] has more levels of formality, there’s more intricacy to it… There’s a difference between your boss and your teacher, or a teacher you know well. Here [in America], you can just have a conversation with anyone you find at the bus stop. No one’s going to think you’re weird for it; you’re having a conversation. It would be significantly weirder in Japan," Annabella Armstrong (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Annabella Armstrong draws cultural awareness from her passion for languages

by Mahika Halepete, Reporter • December 11, 2016

There's bilingual, trilingual, quadrilingual—and then there's Annabella Armstrong (12). She started learning Japanese in middle school and since then, she has added French, Latin, Italian and American...

“Art gives you a lot of freedom to just mess with things, You can do anything you want almost, but yet at certain times, there’s some form to it but there is also flexibility," Ryan Chen (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Ryan Chen meticulously focuses on detail

by Neil Bai, Copy Editor • December 10, 2016

Whether it’s painting on a canvas or organizing volunteering activities, Ryan Chen meticulously plans each step, focusing on every last detail. “I’m really big on organization and I keep a really...

"What I really eventually hope is that in clinical practice one day, some of the [research] work that I've done will be incorporated to help someone somewhere either get an earlier diagnosis or understand their situation at a better level than they would have before, so my ultimate goal is really just to find a way to use the resources that we have as privileged students of The Harker School to make a difference in someone's life who might not have the same opportunities," Manan Shah (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Manan Shah develops a love for helping

by Rose Guan, Winged Post Copy Editor • December 9, 2016

Like many other students, Manan Shah (12) enjoys computer science. Where he differs is in his use of technology for a multitude of lesser-known activities, from participating in the upper school’s nuclear...

“You know how I got that haircut in eighth grade? The bob with the bangs? Basically, [my dance teacher Yoko] started choosing people who she believed had potential, and she would make them get the same haircut as her—which is really weird. I didn't even think I was that good, but there was just one moment in front of the whole class. I was standing right in the center, and she pointed at me and she was like, ‘I see myself in you,’” Isabel Lai (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Isabel Lai carries on legacy of dance instructor through teaching

by Kathy Duan, TALON Editor-In-Chief • December 8, 2016

Although playful and spontaneous with her friends, Isabel’s demeanor shifts when she dances. Brown eyes often crinkled with laughter turn focused and steady, and the same feet seen treading the ground...

“[With aquascaping], you can build a whole ecosystem that looks beautiful, and you can also grow plants. I also find that interesting because whether I’m just adjusting a dosage schedule or trimming the plants, [I] have a piece of nature that I have built myself," Jay Paranjpe (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Jay Paranjpe explores aquascaping to beautify fish tanks

by Brandie Van Londen, Reporter • December 7, 2016

For his 13th birthday, Jay received a 55-gallon fish tank the size of a bench table. However, he soon grew tired of his nondescript aquarium, so he decided to explore ways of creating a more exciting home...

A map of the results of the 2016 presidential election. Each state has a certain amount of electors that ultimately votes for their preferred candidate.

The Electoral College explained

by Nicole Chen and Anjay Saklecha • December 7, 2016

Every four years, the American people use the electoral college system to determine the President and Vice President of the United States. The electoral college is currently comprised of 538 electors,...

“[Playing piano] is more of a state of peace and frustration at the same time, but it’s a good feeling of frustration. It’s all about pressing the keys of my piano because I can express anything that I’m feeling into a song or piece that I’m playing, and then I get absorbed into it. This is the time when I don’t think about anything else. I’m just in the moment," Bill Liang said.

Humans of Harker: Bill Liang uses silent reflection to better himself

by Anjay Saklecha, Features Editor • December 6, 2016

In a noisy world, Bill Liang (12) harnesses the power of silent reflection needed to focus, contemplate and recharge. After 9 years at Harker, Bill has learned that digesting different people’s views...

“When you’re creating something, it should be solely from yourself. There shouldn’t be any influence from society or even just copying. Everyone wants to copy each other, right? Be the same person, be that standard of beauty, but just be yourself. That’s all you need to do. Don’t take everything so seriously. All these rules that we have, they’re not rules, they’re just human things that we impose on each other," Shreya Neogi (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Shreya Neogi showcases her individuality through visual art

by Jin Tuan, Reporter • December 5, 2016

Shreya Neogi (12) finds herself drawn to the unconventional. But instead of words, she uses visual art as a medium to convey her thoughts. “I like writing, but I’m not very good at expressing myself...

Ashley Jiang (11) peers into a box holding gifts from the journalism program's annual secret Santa gift exchange. As winter break approaches, upper school students and faculty organize exchanges like secret Santa and white elephant to celebrate the holidays.

Upper school celebrates holidays with gift exchange activities

by Rose Guan, Winged Post Copy Editor • December 4, 2016

Garlanded trees, winter-themed ornaments and festive decorations have all appeared around campus, but as winter break approaches, many upper school students and teachers will also celebrate the holidays...

“[Living in Shanghai] is freedom. It just gives me a feeling that I have all the power, all the choices. It doesn’t really matter what I really do, but it’s this mindset—I am free; I am not restricted by transportation—I really enjoy. [I feel] desire, nostalgia. Wherever I am, I have this tendency of going to Shanghai because it’s my home," Matthew Hu (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Matthew Hu reminisces about Shanghai

by Julia Huang, TALON Organizations Editor • December 4, 2016

In Shanghai, the world lays out in front of him. Within a one kilometer diameter, he has access to everything—the food vendors, the stores, the skyscrapers. Matthew Hu (12) lived in Shanghai from ages...

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