The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“Working on Roobi has taught me how to bounce back from failures, and that problems need to be addressed one bit at a time because you can't just tackle huge goals. I learned to not be afraid of failure because every failure is a step towards success. I try not to look back and wish I could change something because I can't. It's the past. Instead, I look forward," senior Daniel Dorfman said.
Humans of Harker: Steeped for success
“With volleyball and Medical Club, I love working with people. I get to work with people who aren't necessarily in my classes or aren't my friends specifically, but we get to work hard and work together towards a common goal. That collaboration aspect is really important to me," senior Navya Samuel said.
Humans of Harker: Cooperation through competition
“Human connection is very important to staying grounded and stable. The people around me are one of the reasons that I'm not fully burnt out, so I really prioritize keeping a good schedule for myself. Being able to prioritize the things in life that give me internal satisfaction is important to me because that's what allows me to have the drive to do good with the rest of my time. Talking to people is a way for me to replenish," senior Kashish Priyam said.
Humans of Harker: Pep in every step
“It's very important to make sure the people in your life know they're important to you. Whether that's doing small acts of kindness or just being there whenever they need you, having a really strong support system is what gets you through life, and it's a really valuable life skill to have," Sofie Marino (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Pillar of support
“My karate teachers emphasize that as black belts, we should be living up to the standard of our rank and acting as an example for the students who are lower-ranked.' When I’m helping out and someone messes up, I don't necessarily say, ‘You did this wrong, try to do this.’ I take a more relaxed approach and act out what they did a little comically. It's finding the balance between being strict and being more playful with the students," senior Claire Perng said.
Humans of Harker: Playing with purpose
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
“With speech, you get these 10 minutes to say whatever you want and I think what you say says so much about you, the stories you share and what’s important to you. With theater, it’s the same thing, but it’s a more collaborative experience, and you’re there to share your story for a longer time. I think that both theater and speech, the reason why I do both of them and love both of them so much, is that you can really share what’s important to you, and it’s kind of a place where people have to listen to you," Sana Aladin (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Sana Aladin makes her voice heard

by Kevin Huang, People Editor • November 29, 2016

Sana Aladin (12) has a lot to say, so it’s no surprise that she takes part in theater and speech. “Anyone who knows me would probably say: ‘She’s someone who will keep talking and talking and...

“I don’t really remember getting stage fright for any performance necessarily, but sometimes when I’m talking in front of large audiences as myself, I tend to get stage fright, which is kind of the opposite of most people. It’s much easier to be open and just in front of a large audience as someone else, as a character or as a singing, dancing and showy guy," Emre Ezer (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Emre Ezer expresses creativity through performing arts

by Kathy Fang, Reporter • November 28, 2016

Dressed in a light gray Harker Conservatory sweatshirt, light-washed jeans and worn gray sneakers, Emre Ezer (12) rehearses his monologue to an invisible audience, his low and calm voice echoing around...

“My mom has always told me, and still reminds me to this day, that every little thing matters, and that the time and effort that I spend in doing something is never wasted if I whole-heartedly put everything I have into it. [I] give my all, [my] 100% effort into everything I do, because it’ll eventually pay off in the long run, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time," Mahlet Demissachew (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Mahlet Demissachew plays drums as mode of self-expression

by Raveena Kapatkar, Editor-in-Chief • November 26, 2016

Mahlet Demissachew’s friends know her best for her bright and caring personality and fun sense of humor, but recently she decided to pursue a lesser-known passion: drumming. She started learning the...

“I feel like a kid in the candy shop whenever people talk to me about astronomy because there’s so much about it we don’t know. We exist in the solar system, which exists in a galaxy, which exists in a cluster of galaxies, which exists in a supercluster of galaxies— and so on until you get to the universe. When I first took a class and that’s what I learned, I was stricken with this intense existential crisis with the fact that I’m a tiny little human being on a tiny little planet— and that anything I do doesn’t matter," Mataan Peer (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Mataan Peer reflects on distinctive laugh, astronomy interest

by Tiffany Wong, Aquila Copy Editor • November 21, 2016

Whether it’s projecting his voice in class or offering a generous laugh after a joke, Mataan Peer (12) constantly finds himself breaking the silence. “I think [my laugh is] a mix of the words chortle...

“I have a dog and his name is Captain. In some ways, I’m an only child, so he’s pretty much my brother. I pet him, take him on a walk, run, stuff like that, it really gives me perspective. His life is so simple, he only cares about food and play and if I’m getting stressed out, if I see my dog, I realize that there’s a lot more to life than just school," Sandip Nirmel (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Sandip Nirmel develops new hobbies

by Nicole Chen, Features Editor • November 17, 2016

Although you wouldn’t know it from hearing Sandip Nirmel (12)’s deep announcer voice at school meetings, he wasn’t always a confident speaker. While Sandip serves as the president of the student...

“Water polo is an aggressive, physical contact sport, and I feel like it's helped me go after what I do because there's always going to be someone chasing you down and trying to score the ball on your goal. So it's being aggressive, going after what you want, and thinking in the moment," Sarah de Vegvar (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Sarah de Vegvar enjoys working with a team

by Katherine Zhang, Asst. STEM Editor • November 16, 2016

Sarah de Vegvar (12) gained a plethora of skills when helping to build a robot from scratch, ranging from power tool protocol to team communication. "[Robotics] was one of those things where there were...

“I tinker with whatever I can get my hands on. If I am in class, every once in awhile, I'll just pick apart a pen just for fun and put it back together. When I am at home, I will just build with whatever is around me. I'll just build something, whatever I have," Anthony Crook (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Anthony Crook connects robotics to his daily life

by Rashmi Iyer, Reporter • November 14, 2016

As a member of Harker’s robotics club, Anthony Crook (12) uses the organization as a place to let his inner tinkering spirit run free, all of the tools and parts he needs at his disposal. Robotics provides...

“Don’t be afraid. Even if you’re big or small, slow or fast, you still have a place on the field, it’s for everyone. Big guys, they have the line. Fast guys, they have the wide receiver or running backs. There’s always a place for anyone on the team, so don’t feel like ‘Oh I’m not big enough,’ you can work on that. Just don’t be afraid of trying out football, it’s not that scary," Davis Howard (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Davis Howard plays with no fear under pressure

by Gloria Guo, TALON Academics Editor • November 11, 2016

Davis Howard (12) remembers everything about that one play. The sweat dribbling down his temples, the black helmet adorned with a glossy “H” perched on top of his head. Illuminated by the lights beaming...

“When I look at a character, whether it’s a character that I’m reading or a character who’s right in front of me, an actual person – because they're really not that different, a fictional character and a real character – the reason that appeals to me is because I can see so much of myself in that character," Andrew Rule said.

Humans of Harker: Andrew Rule and the personas we make

by Derek Yen, STEM Editor • November 9, 2016

Andrew Rule, who writes short stories, is fascinated with the construction of characters. Andrew pursues his interest in writing in his free time, serving as a co-editor-in-chief of Harker’s Eclectic...

“To me, programming feels like a huge sandbox where you can do anything you want to fit any function and it’s only constrained by your own imagination. It’s also a pretty challenging and intellectually stimulating activity. It feels to me like a huge intricate puzzle that you have to scope out all the parts to and then you write code to fit every single function and integrate everything together perfectly so it’s both efficient and fits the thing you want to accomplish," Vedaad Shakib (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Vedaad Shakib programs robots

by Ashley Jiang, Photo Editor • November 7, 2016

Swiping his membership card over the sensor on the door into the TechShop, Vedaad Shakib (12), carrying his backpack on his back, steps into the brightly lit, equipment-filled workshop –– his second...

“I’m an only child, and in both my mom’s side and dad’s side, I’m the first child to be born in the U.S. and grow up here. I feel like my parents have given me this opportunity that no one else in my family has had, so it’s my responsibility to take what I’ve been given and work harder and accomplish more than what my parents have," Trisha Dwivedi (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Trisha Dwivedi values family

by Meena Gudapati, Winged Post News Editor • November 5, 2016

Every day, Trisha Dwivedi (12) wears earrings and a necklace from her parents, a turquoise beaded bracelet from her uncle and two rings from her grandmothers. Each with a different significance, these...

“Solving problems is a struggle, but it's really rewarding when you put the stuff together. It seems like magic sometimes. Once I learn something really cool, I'll write it in a handout. I guess the point of writing a paper and teaching would be to just share what I know and share my excitement," Kai Ang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Kai Ang likes to challenge himself with complex math problems

by Melissa Kwan, TALON Seniors Editor • October 31, 2016

To Kai Ang (12), being “good” at math doesn’t necessarily mean finishing problems first. His level of expertise lies not in rote calculations or speed competitions, but in the most complex problems...

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