The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

I dont care about things, I care about people,” Mallory Millard (12) said. “A lot of times, people form connections for the wrong reasons. I value the relationships you have with people where you can just be with them, and be completely comfortable without saying a single word. If you can go over and nap at someones house and theyre just cool with it, or they nap too, I think thats a real friend right there.

Humans of Harker: Mallory Millard cares about human connection

by Farah Hosseini, Reporter November 16, 2017

When photographing her subject, Mallory Millard turns her attention to the less noticeable features in a picture to fully capture every emotion portrayed. “When you see a picture of somebody and a...

“Even though the kicker doesn’t get much respect, every team needs a kicker,” Dominic Cea (12) said. “You can be a hero or a villain. I thrive on the pressure—I like to be in the crunch time situations. It gives me a rush of adrenaline, and I like to try to be the hero. Everyone has their role to play, whether its on the football field or in the workplace. I think wherever you go, there are always going to be roles that are bigger and everyone cares about, but theres always going to be people in the shadows doing a lot of work that people dont see.”

Humans of Harker: Dominic Cea puts in work behind the scenes

by Eric Fang, Global Editor November 15, 2017

Dominic Cea (12) wakes up at 6:00 a.m. every morning with a singular goal: college football. At 6:15 a.m., he runs half a mile around his nearby Silver Leaf Park. Just prior to going to bed, he performs...

“I think its really easy to become fixated on whats going on in your life and forget about what is going on around you,” Ananya Krishnan (12) said. “I wish that schools would emphasize current events more in order to teach us about the world we are living in and going to be living in. I bet if you go up to any Harker kid, theyll be much more knowledgeable about World War II or the Great Depression than the events that are taking place all around them in real time.”

Humans of Harker: Ananya Krishnan keeps a global perspective

by Arya Maheshwari, Reporter November 14, 2017

Incoming freshmen have a choice of courses to fill their Extra Period Option. Some choose dance; others choose Bel Canto; others choose a free period. Ananya Krishnan (12) chose Principles of Business...

What do I want to be remembered for? Adriano Hernandez (12) said. I dont know. I wouldnt want to be remembered as obviously a bad person. I dont think theres anything really different about my moral code than anybody elses. With the current state of affairs, it would be nice to be remembered comically, as a meme or something.

Humans of Harker: Adriano Hernandez tinkers with electronics

by Sara Yen, Reporter November 13, 2017

A pattering of clicks from typing away at his keyboard fills the atmosphere. Line after line of code, each for its own function, materializes on his laptop screen. Adriano Hernandez (12) loves to build...

“My brother was a juvenile delinquent,” Anthony Contreras (12) said. “To see him struggle and everyone else struggle with him, it made me sad at home. I really didnt want to be sad outside of home. Thats when it sort of came to me to fake it til you make it.’ Fake being happy, and eventually youll become happy, rather than staying sad about everything. I tried to not let things like that affect me. I tried to stay calm… I could have been exactly like my brother, but I chose the path to see my mom as a complete idol. She is exactly like me—or I am exactly like her—in terms of being calm and stress-free and relaxed. I am trying to be more like my mom, rather than letting my biological dad or my brother influence me.”

Humans of Harker: Anthony Contreras channels his mother’s strength

by Gloria Zhang, Aquila Asst. Features Editor November 10, 2017

“He’s my son. He’s a funny boy. He likes to compete. When he is committed to something, he tries his best. Sometimes he’s quiet. Sometimes he’s not.” Anthony Contreras’ (12) mother, Aida...

“A lot of people are skeptical of [my startup] idea; theyre not too sure whether its going to work or not,” Nirban Bhatia (12) said. “They dont necessarily support me in trying it out, and they find ten flaws that people have already told me about. They’re trying to almost pull me down just because they feel it’s something that’s really not going to work. I’ve just got to learn how to take everything with a grain of salt, so I can continue to push forward and make my idea a reality.”

Humans of Harker: Nirban Bhatia reflects on “grit”

by Varsha Rammohan, Reporter November 9, 2017

Nirban Bhatia (12) sits on the steps of Shah patio, his sky blue turban standing out in the sea of dark attire. “I guess generally I’m the one person who will stand out in a crowd, and that is because...

“I try to be as outgoing as possible the first time you meet me. It’s hard, because when you first meet someone they think you’re a different person,” Karina Butani (12) said. “When people first meet me, they think I’m really introverted, but when they get to know me it’s like an opposite person. But it’s fun to prove people wrong, like—surprise, this is who I really am.’”

Humans of Harker: Karina Butani combats her commute with conversation

by Kaidi Dai, Reporter November 8, 2017

Despite her 5’9’’ stature, Karina Butani (12) maintains a low profile at Harker. She lives in Pleasanton and spends three hours in the car on an average day, making it difficult to spend time with...

“I feel like sometimes at Harker, we students have this urge to control everything in our lives,” Matthew Lee (12) said. “Like if you don’t get an A on that test, it’s because you didn’t work hard enough, or if you don’t get into this school, it’s because you didn’t work hard enough, or if you don’t get into that school, it’s because you didn’t do enough. But sometimes that’s just not true. Sometimes things are out of your control.

Humans of Harker: Matthew Lee finds meaning in contradiction

by Irina Malyugina, Reporter November 7, 2017

Matthew Lee (12) speaks softly, but his words carry weight. Whether delivering a wry comment during Modern International Affairs or writing for his Near research paper, he phrases his sentences with care. “Basically,...

“My dad is very curious,” Neelesh Ramachandran (12) said. He is an engineer, so he obviously knows about electrical engineering and fiber optics, which is what he does, but if you ask him about whatever happened in the War of 1812, he can give you a sort of concise response. The way he thinks is by connecting broad principles, and that’s the way I try to approach learning as a whole. Nobody learns biology and only uses biology, because inherent in biology [are] concepts in chemistry and concepts in physics, so you have to look at everything. Especially this is true within STEM and outside of STEM—you have to be looking at the broader picture and [know] how to combine different domains, different aspects in science. That’s where the power really comes through.”

Humans of Harker: Neelesh Ramachandran seeks to understand

by Saloni Shah, Reporter November 6, 2017

The book sits on a table; the table exerts a normal force on the book. You remove the book from the table; the table relaxes that force in proportion to the speed of your motion. In elementary school,...

“You have to embrace high school while it lasts,” Olivia Long (12) said. “I really wasnt doing much in my freshman year—it was just gymnastics, school, sleep, repeat. You hear about the stereotypical high school experience, and it seems so fun and everybody’s so involved, so I wanted to take part in that. Cheerleading lets me show school spirit.”

Humans of Harker: Olivia Long balances old and new

by Krishna Bheda, Columnist November 3, 2017

As a gymnast since age two, Olivia Long (12) loves the feeling of flying. “It's just so free,” she said. “I know I'm in control, and it's so fun. When I tumble, I can get so high in the air. I...

“Life is just a super big combination of bad and good things,” Abha Patkar (12) said. “When I look back on all the things in my life, I freaked out over so much, and there was no point, because it all just… passed. Just recognizing that nothing is permanent is something that’s helped me.”

Humans of Harker: Abha Patkar prioritizes her friendships

by Jenna Sadhu, Aquila Broadcast & Multimedia Editor November 2, 2017

Few people know about Abha Patkar’s (12) community service accolades—a Red Cross “Youth of the Year” Award and a Fisher House Challenge prize, to name two—because she chooses not to broadcast...

“The [performance] I probably remember the most is the first time I ever did a solo. Everything changes when you walk out and you’re by yourself. There’s a panel of 5 judges just sitting there staring at you, and you kind of stand there and wait for the music to start, and sometimes it doesn’t start super quickly and so you stand there awkwardly. I was terrified, because I was so used to having everybody else around. But then the minute the music started and I knew what I was doing, it just felt like every other performance,  Gracean Linthacum-Janker (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Gracean Linthacum-Janker dances to her own rhythm

by Nicole Chen, Aquila Features Editor November 1, 2017

Gracean Linthacum-Janker (12) remembers the moment—the blinding lights casting her figure in a silhouette, her heart beating nervously as she waited for the music to begin. But when she heard the first...

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