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
“For me, it all comes down to having perspective on what's important in the grand scheme of things. Actually learning something is definitely way more important than the grade I'm going to get and so on, but it's really hard to see that in the moment. But things like hiking, which gives me a moment to just slow down and reflect, or talking to my older brother, who shares his experiences and realizations with me, or just messing around with my friends, who have made high school way more enjoyable than I thought was possible, have helped me stay above the stress and adopt a perspective that lets me enjoy the little moments,” Priyanka Taneja (12) said.

Priyanka Taneja adapts a unique approach to high school from the people around her

by Kshithija Mulam, Winged Post Editor-in-Chief • February 22, 2017

“High aspirations, low expectations.” Through the trials and tribulations of high school, this core philosophy has served as a guide to life for Priyanka Taneja (12). Priyanka picked up this motto...

“I have always been a pretty shy person, so when I volunteered to air guitar on stage in front of the whole school, I really surprised myself. When I first got called up, I was just excited for Sharks tickets, but then when I saw the video, my stomach dropped because I thought I might have to do that. Then, as my other contestants went, I started to think maybe I can do this,” Lyndsey Mitchell (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Lyndsey Mitchell takes on new challenges

by Julia Amick, TALON Asst. Photo Editor • February 19, 2017

For Lyndsey Mitchell, high school serves as an environment where she can try new activities outside her comfort zone and explore her interests. Whether it was joining cheer Freshman year or taking on  captain...

“I’ve been doing [art] since I was really little and it’s kind of just become a part of my life. I feel like it’s the only way I can express my feelings,” Irene Bashar (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Irene Bashar channels her emotions through art

by Anvi Banga, Reporter • February 16, 2017

Irene Bashar (12) first discovered her love for art when her parents decided to put a stop to her scribbling on all of their notebooks. “When I was about 8, I used to scribble on my parents’ notebooks,”...

“Success is knowing that you did your best and being happy with what you did. It doesn't mean that you have to be the best that's out there, but if you're happy with your end result and you know you tried your hardest, and that is all you can do and you should be proud of that,” Medha Shah (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Medha Shah explores her passion in the arts

by Gloria Zhang, Reporter • February 15, 2017

Despite exploring different passions, Medha Shah (12) only discovered her love for performing arts later in life during a voice lesson. “I had a teacher who used to be opera singer, and she really...

“I write fictional stories, and I spend a lot of time thinking about situations. Even though I'm trying to delve into other people's psychologies when I do this sort of thing, at the same time, I feel that helps me satisfy my desire to figure out how people think. It's a way for me to explore what sort of ways people think about the people around them or their settings. That's one of the things I find most rewarding about creative work and creating characters and plots and imagining settings,” Tiffany Zhu (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Tiffany Zhu immerses herself in stories

by Angele Yang, Reporter • February 12, 2017

Since middle school, senior Tiffany Zhu has devoted her time outside of school to writing. In seventh grade, she read Crime and Punishment with fervor, though she didn’t quite understand its themes at...

“The future will always be there, and to a certain extent you need to mold your life to achieve your future goals. But in doing so, you can't get so caught up that you forget to live in the present and start to lose yourself. I've learned that all these trivial moments are what make for the best memories and it is important not to forget that," Raveena Kapatkar (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Raveena Kapatkar learns independence through past experiences

by Meena Gudapati, Winged Post News Editor • February 11, 2017

Although Raveena Kapatkar (12) has lived most of her life in the U.S., her time spent in India has had a huge impact on her life. When Raveena was nine years old, she moved to Hyderabad in South India...

“Scientific research has really been a learning process for me. It's been a wild rollercoaster. One moment you feel you know exactly what you are going to do, but the next moment you wonder why you are even here. There’s a lot of twists and turns along the way, but you just keep going and you always make it through in the end,” Albert Pun (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Albert Pun fuels his passion for learning

by Neil Bai, Copy Editor • February 10, 2017

Since beginning science research at Luo’s Lab, a biology laboratory in Stanford, senior Albert Pun has expanded his learning through hands-on experience outside of the classroom. “Scientific research...

"At this point, it's hard for me to think about what life would've been if I hadn't happened to ask my parents for an art tablet because it's led me to making new friends and pretty much set me on the "art" path I'm on right now. I'd probably have no idea what I would want to do at college and after if it weren't for it to be honest," Grace Park (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Grace Park pursues graphic design

by Ria Gupta, Reporter • February 9, 2017

After wanting to recreate the pictures she saw online as a child, Grace Park (12) began to love art and graphic design. “I’ll always remember that first piece of digital art I did when I was like...

"I think it’s being more of a confident and open person, because I kind of create a wall around myself when I don’t know people or if I’m in a new situation for the first time, and it’s really hard for me to feel comfortable with myself until I somebody approaches me or I’m prompted to do something, and I think I need to especially work on this for next year, because I’m going to be in a completely new environment and I should be able to take initiative. I’ve improved on that in the past four years because in freshman year i was super shy, I didn’t join any clubs, I didn’t do anything, but I think now I’m more comfortable with myself," Anuva Mittal (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Anuva Mittal develops confidence throughout high school

by Sahana Srinivasan, Winged Post Managing Editor • February 8, 2017

Dancing fingers, she and her friends call them, and they do dance. As Anuva Mittal (12) speaks, her fingers never cease to move, hands flipping and gesturing with every phrase. “I think that’s...

“Star Trek has this one episode with a doomsday device. They hypothesize it's from an undiscovered galaxy or part of the universe, and considering how destructive it is, it's also likely that those who created it no longer exist. There's the obvious commentary on potential nuclear holocausts, but it kind of also makes you think about consequences of your actions. Also, there's something that people just think is haunting and beautiful about an advanced civilization being lost like that," Lauren Liu (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Lauren Liu enjoys reading web comics

by Ruhi Sayana, Winged Post Copy Editor • February 7, 2017

For Lauren Liu (12), XKCD and SMVC webcomics create a perfect storm of romance, sarcasm, math and language. Lauren explores the world of XKCD and SMBC web comics on the Internet when she’s not playing...

“I’m an empathetic person. I use that word because I think theater has helped me with that. I mean, you play different characters and you enter people’s lives for a bit, and it helps you see different perspectives. Sympathy is different than empathy. I think I’m an open-minded person,” Marina Newman (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Marina Newman exhibits personalities of the characters she plays

by Jin Tuan, Reporter • February 6, 2017

 Both feet planted firmly on the pine needles and head held high, Marina Newman (12) stands for a silent second before becoming her character on the impromptu stage. As soon as she opens her mouth to...

“Coaching has taught me a lot of leadership skills because it's pretty hard to organize kids who really don't know you. I've also had to interact with parents, and that can also be challenging. Sometimes you have to take that criticism and use that to adapt, and other times you just have to tell them that you're the coach so you have to stand up to them," Rahul Shukla (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Rahul Shukla coaches youth basketball

by Eleanor Xiao, TALON Student Life Editor • February 5, 2017

Senior Rahul Shukla has been coaching elementary school kids at his local YMCA since the start of high school. In order to juggle the workload of high school alongside his love of basketball and service,...

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