The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
Humans of Harker: Leading with every lesson
Humans of Harker: Leading with every lesson
“For me, discipline can only happen when I try the things that I really like. Since I like basketball and I like guitar, I'm willing to contribute to the discipline. It's not really discipline at that point — it's passion," senior Advay Monga said.
Humans of Harker: Dribble and drive
“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
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
“Golf is pretty unpredictable,” Jin Kim (12) said. “Even the best in the world have bad days and it's pretty hard to deal with it, but it's a growing experience because I have to learn to deal with bad rounds. In the end, it just feels really good leaving the course after practice because I knew I worked really hard that day and I could go home and rest easy.”

Humans of Harker: Jin Kim derives easygoing attitude from golf

by Shreya Srinivasan, Reporter • April 10, 2018

Jin Kim (12) typically wears a hoodie, sweatpants and a T-shirt of some generic brand — an outfit that reflects his mellow and laid-back personality. Instead of going overboard with the activities...

"In sophomore year, I lost my best friend and neighbor in a car accident," Vedant Shah (12) said. "I was in my room for an hour, staring at a wall, and it came to me that my life was way too short to be holding grudges and being a mean person — because the only constant we have in our life is that nothing is constant. Even though we all have aspirations and we're all trying to get to our respective places, it's important to recognize when to stop and take in the moment and the people around you."

Humans of Harker: Vedant Shah drives to connect past and present

by Prameela Kottapalli, Winged Post Features Editor • April 9, 2018

Vedant Shah (12) has always loved cars. He and his best friend used to spend hours upon hours raving about the latest models, engaging in turbulent discussions about BMW M3’s and Lamborghinis. Together,...

"I used to be one of those kids who always thought it would be super embarrassing to dance in front of others and would just kind of awkwardly stand to the side with the other big kids while all the uncles and aunties and little kids would dance at the big Indian parties to which all the families I am really close with would be invited," Tanvi Singh (12) said. "But then last year, I thought to myself, 'Okay, Tanvi, this is really stupid. You know you want to dance: you’re always tapping your foot or nodding your head to the beat when you stand on the side. Just do it.' So I did, and it felt amazing just dancing with absolutely no inhibitions. Everyone was shocked. And once the party was over and everyone started leaving, almost everyone came up to me and said something along the lines of, 'You’re an amazing dancer, bheta. I didn’t know you had it in you.' And it wasn’t because I pulled off ten pirouettes in a row or did a triple backflip or anything. In fact, I’m pretty sure my moves were pretty basic. I think it’s because I brought a lot of energy to the dance floor. When the adults dance they usually just clap in a circle and move a little or half-heartedly do the standard pick-the-nose move and when the little kids dance they usually just swing their arms around. So someone dancing their non-existent tail off was pretty unprecedented.”

Humans of Harker: Tanvi Singh embraces “non-judgmentalness”

by Sydney Takemoto, Reporter • April 8, 2018

“Indian parties are such wonderfully chaotic affairs,” Tanvi Singh (12) began. “The sound of pooris boiling and aunties laughing in the kitchen mixes with the screams of colorfully dressed children...

"You guys all saw me on Davis at 7:30 in the morning, practicing, because I didn’t want to make a complete fool of myself," Vignesh Panchanatham (12) said. "I was just doing different dribbling drills. I brought out the cones, and whenever the goals were out, I tried to shoot as well. I knew I wasn’t going to be better than anybody there, but I wanted to be semi-competent. And as the season went on, I could see that I was getting better and better. Traps that I would have missed out on before, I started to get them. My shot got better; I ended up scoring a goal. It was just as time went by and I kept putting in that same amount of effort, I became less of a beginner and more of someone who has a lot to work on."

Humans of Harker: Vignesh Panchanatham perspires for greatness

by Melissa Kwan, Humans of Harker Managing Editor • April 6, 2018

On those 40-degree October mornings, Vignesh Panchanatham (12) might as well have been the only person on Davis Field. He’d bring a soccer ball and cleats to school every day, dribbling between the...

"I joined this ballet dance academy — it is a Russian one — in sixth grade because my mom wanted me to stand up straighter," Patrick Zhong (12) said. "My first memory of doing ballet was the teacher having her hand above my head and I had to jump and touch it. I enjoy expressing myself, but mainly, I like the performances because it is very thrilling being on stage. I kept going, and it's been seven years."

Humans of Harker: Patrick Zhong pursues computer science, ballet

by Laura Wu, TALON People Editor • April 4, 2018

“We basically talk about coding a lot. Coding and memes,” Edgar Lin (12) said of his friend Patrick Zhong (12). “Most of our interactions are him and Adriano [Hernandez (12)] trying to indoctrinate...

"I started doing yoga at CorePower, and at first, I really didn’t like it because I’ve never been really coordinated," Vanessa Tyagi (12) said. "I’m really bad at dancing; flexibility: I have none. I’m kind of just this stiff pole. I walked into this yoga studio, and I was so self-conscious of myself. I went alone, and I was putting myself in this very uncomfortable situation, but I think when I started to enjoy it, that’s when I felt successful. I found happiness in it. And I’m not that bad anymore. I can actually move, and I don’t look like I’m in pain every time I’m doing a position."

Humans of Harker: Vanessa Tyagi builds purposeful habits

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Student Life and Sports Managing Editor • April 2, 2018

Like many things she does, Vanessa Tyagi (12) started modeling on a whim. “It was just one of those impulsive things that I do, so I was like might as well do it — I’ve always wanted to,” she...

"I am very interested in the extremes, so either really big or really small," Nick Acero (12) said. "So like astronomy or nanoscience. I have been drawn to this idea of what we don’t know. We don’t know much about space; we don’t know much about the really small. We don’t know anything about really anything below the size of an atom itself. We don’t know what an electron looks like anything like that. We don’t even know what is going on with the sun on the other side of the spectrum. I think that’s just really interesting."

Humans of Harker: Nicolas Acero is intrigued by the extremes

by Saloni Shah, Reporter • April 1, 2018

Senior Nicolas Acero finds himself drawn to the unknowns — the enormity of space, the minutia of the atom. “I am very interested in the extremes, so either really big or really small, he said. “So...

“It’s hard for me to read and write in general,” Daniel Little (12) said. “I feel [dyslexia is] going to affect me that way. I want to become something in engineering, which means lots of write-ups, which is going to be painful. But it’s on a topic that I’ll actually enjoy."

Humans of Harker: Daniel Little finds strength in numbers

by Anoushka Buch, Reporter • March 31, 2018

Some students feel at ease surrounded by familiar letters and words, but Daniel Little (12) is at his happiest in the midst of numbers and mathematical operations. Daniel discovered he had dyslexia...

“I was kind of obsessed with [iPods]," Kunal Bhandarkar (12) said. "I also kept destroying the ones I had because I always left them in my pocket when they got washed. Eventually, I got interested in the code aspect and started taking classes outside of school. It’s pretty interesting how you can blend hardware and software with robotics and see it come to life just right there in front of you. The feeling you get when it works is the best feeling in the world.”

Humans of Harker: Kunal Bhandarkar values both hardware and software

by Michael Eng, Reporter • March 27, 2018

“It was bulky and only held 200 songs or something like that,” Kunal Bhandarkar (12) said of his original 2005 iPod Shuffle. “But it was pretty cool.” He received his first iPod from his aunt...

“A couple years ago, I had a blood test, and my doctor said I had to watch out for pre-diabetes," Jay Ali said. "My family has a history of having diabetes and a bunch of diseases. I’ve seen my grandma inject insulin in her body every day, and I decided I didn’t want to go down that path. I started working out every day and trying to get in shape, because I didn’t want to have diabetes for the rest of my life. I think health is really important because without health, nothing else is important in life. For example, Steve Jobs. He didn’t have such a healthy body, but he was a really special guy to everyone else. I kind of want to be that guy, but with no health issues so I can live my life to the fullest."

Humans of Harker: Jay Ali focuses on self-improvement

by Nilisha Baid, Reporter • March 26, 2018

Jay Ali (12) plays the bassoon — an instrument most people don’t recognize. “At the beginning, I wasn’t that good,” he said. “I was last chair, and there were four others ahead of me. I...

Humans of Harker: Jacqueline He embraces magical realism

by Nicole Chen, Features Editor • March 23, 2018

Creative writing can be a science; programming can be an art. Jacqueline He (12) resides in that intersection. “I think it’s kind of like the left brain, right brain divide,” she said when comparing...

"I've been working on a compiler for my own programming language, not related to the Harker course, just because I wanted to make my own language as a sort of challenge," Sumer Kohli (12) said. "I wanted to see if I could make something actually useful. So far it's called Sumer code, but I'll come up with a better name, I promise."

Humans of Harker: Sumer Kohli programs with a purpose

by Saloni Shah, Reporter • March 22, 2018

Some start with Python; others with Scratch. Some start with robotics, others with online courses and camps. But Sumer Kohli’s (12) programming start came with “The Bros,” the fifth-grade friend...

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