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
“One of the biggest events in my life was when my parents got divorced,” Markus Wong (12) said. “I've always wanted to improve myself — it's kind of a common theme in my life. I was never satisfied with just being mediocre. When my parents got divorced, I thought it was the worst thing in the world. It was at that point that I was thinking to myself, 'Why do bad things happen to me, even though I'm trying so hard?' That kind of started a long journey of realizing that stuff like that will happen, but you have to learn how to be the bigger person. You can't let things consume you.”

Humans of Harker: Markus Wong reflects on his dual nature

by Irina Malyugina, Reporter • March 3, 2018

“It's like a cheap drug, in a way,” Markus Wong (12) said of performing arts. “You do it once, it makes you feel good. The difference is that it's the people you're with. It's who you're interacting...

"In Spain, I took this picture of this street musician. It was in the night, and it was super grainy and really dark," Neeraj Aggarwal (12) said. "But when I increased the exposure and everything was still grainy, you could see a really big smile on his face and [he was] holding his guitar. There were two children next to him. This picture, to me, is not something I could blow up and print, but that's one of my favorite pictures just because of the moment that I captured... two kids enjoying the musician's music and the musician enjoying the fact that the kids were there."

Humans of Harker: Neeraj Aggarwal lies at the “intersection of design and technology”

by Michael Eng & Melissa Kwan • March 2, 2018

Neeraj Aggarwal (12) has travelled to Dubai, Guatemala, Switzerland and Spain, but he admits that he spent much of his time looking through a viewfinder. “My dad tells me to put the camera away a...

“I’m going against Oscar Wilde right now," Aislinn Coveney (12) said. "He said that ‘art is not an imitation of life.’ I disagree with that wholeheartedly. With art, because you’re using pictures to depict what you see around you, it should be more powerful than words. I’m not good with words, but someone who is, like a writer or an author, can write these things out, but those are perceived messages. You can take those words and twist them, and they can mean whatever you want. But with art, I feel like it’s more symbolic. You see what’s in front of you, and it’s received information. You look at the art, and straight up, you know this is what I want you to see."

Humans of Harker: Aislinn Coveney creates art to make a statement

by Arushi Saxena, Reporter • March 1, 2018

Few students would dare contradict Oscar Wilde, but Aislinn Coveney (12) is one of them. “He said that ‘art is not an imitation of life.’ I disagree with that wholeheartedly,” she said. “With...

“My sophomore year, I tore a ligament in my leg while playing soccer,” Sharad Chandra (12) said. “I think from then on, I’ve been scared to make tackles. Now, before a game, I tell myself to not be scared, and I think that confidence is the biggest thing to achieve anything in life. Without confidence, there’s no way you can’t be successful. I think on the field, I live by ‘you miss all the shots you don’t take,’ because it’s like if I don’t try and put myself in a position to try to do something new, I can’t succeed.”

Humans of Harker: Sharad Chandra finds strength in unity

by Srinath Somasundaram, Reporter • February 28, 2018

A series of cheers emanate from the crowd as Sharad Chandra (12) travels deftly down the soccer field, each coordinated pass a wordless conversation. “Normally, when you play soccer, you just get...

“Different colors make me feel different ways,” Alisa Su (12) said. “The combination of it and going through that process makes me really happy. Mixing colors is one of the most beautiful processes of art to me. I absolutely hate it when people take the tube and straight up start using the color.”

Humans of Harker: Alisa Su thinks through her designs

by Heidi Zhang, Humans of Harker Videographer • February 27, 2018

Go-to graphic designer, paint mixer, people person — as an artist, Alisa Su (12) uses her extroverted personality to her advantage. “One of her greatest talents is her ability to understand people....

“One of our players, Floyd [Gordon (12)], made a touchdown during the game, so we were playing some crazy stuff, and then he got injured like on the next play," Bobby Schick (12) said. "So I just got up and started playing ‘Lean On Me’ because I knew how to play it on piano, and I put on saxophone for a second. I started playing it, and our entire section started humming along as they carried him off the field. That was one of those moments where I was like, ‘Wow. Okay. I realize what you can do just by playing a song.’"

Humans of Harker: Bobby Schick thrives on jazz

by Aditya Singhvi, Reporter • February 26, 2018

Bobby Schick plays during every football game — though not out on the field. Instead, with him on saxophone, the pep band he co-founded supports the team through their home games. "Usually every...

“I value my hard work over anything else,” Aadi Ghildiyal (12) said. “I don’t particularly think I have any talents that carry me through. So all the stuff that I’ve achieved so far is just because I just kept on persevering and kept doing stuff even if it sucked, or even if the circumstances were really annoying.”

Humans of Harker: Aadi Ghildiyal speaks bluntly

by Sydney Takemoto & Melissa Kwan • February 23, 2018

“How do you express yourself?” is an elusive question, often eliciting long-winded answers about artistic outlets or the creative process. But Aadi Ghildiyal’s (12) response to “How do you express...

“When my brother and I were younger, we would watch Disney movies together and that was the only thing that bonded us because we hated each other at that point,” Sameep Mangat (12) said. “He always called himself Tigger because he thought that Tigger embodied his personality and he thought it was super representative of his bounciness and his love of life and the fact that he gave hugs to people and that he was this really bright person. I wanted a way to fit into that story, so I assigned myself Eeyore just because at that time in my life, I liked to describe myself as being emotionally deep and sort of sad, but more reserved in that sense. We became Eeyore and Tigger and we called our life the Hundred Acre Story.”

Humans of Harker: Sameep Mangat seeks out stories

by Megan Cardosi, Student Life Editor & Sports Managing Editor • February 22, 2018

After all these years, Sameep Mangat (12) still has her Eeyore-themed pencil pouch. “When my brother and I were younger, we would watch Disney movies together and that was the only thing that bonded...

"I have the athletic side of me and I have the art side of me, and I use the same basic mentality for both of them, and I feel like both of them also teach me how to grow as a person—in society with other people as well as in their specific areas," Mason Menaker (12) said. "They're kind of like stepping stones, where I use each of them to build a path."

Humans of Harker: Mason Menaker uses soccer and art as “stepping stones” in his life

by Kathy Fang, Photo Editor • February 21, 2018

Art and soccer, soccer and art. At first glance, they seem to be worlds apart: one an intense, action-driven battle on a muddy grass field, the other a quiet yet powerful craft charged with the mission...

“I think, if you’ve noticed, a lot of popular things only have white people in them,” Deb Chatterjee (12) said. “I wish people would care more about supporting creators of color. I feel like it’s not enough to not be racist, like that’s the lowest line you have to clear. I think you have to support people of color besides issues of racism; you should be looking at their creative stuff too. When I was a kid, it kind of bothered me that in the books and stuff I was reading I never saw characters that looked like me... I want to be the person who puts their stories up.”

Humans of Harker: Deb Chatterjee challenges media stereotypes with art

by Nilisha Baid, Reporter • February 20, 2018

Deb Chatterjee (12) brings coffee with her everywhere, the caffeine fueling her through long hours of creative writing and drawing. She writes stories; she sells prints on commission in her shop. “I...

“I really enjoy characters who are the bad guys, but the audience feels sympathy for them,” Matthew Sutton (12) said. “Someone like Loki. He's the villain in Thor, but at the same time, everyone still loves him and his antics. This villain in the movie isn't necessarily bad because he's been through things, and there are so many layers to [his] character. We know why he does what he does.”

Humans of Harker: Matthew Sutton weaves complex characters into his films

by Farah Hosseini, Reporter • February 9, 2018

Positioned near the tower of Davis Field with his camera, Matthew Sutton (12) stands out while filming at a football game. Decked out in neutral, yet multi-colored beaded necklaces, an army green flannel,...

“Swimming has definitely been a big part of me,” Vivian Wang (12) said. “It’s much more than an exercise or a sport. It’s taught me a lot of things, and it’s really helped me become a tougher person, both in school and in life. There have been a lot of times where I’ve wanted to give up, but since the people surrounding you are still going and still trying to do better, you don’t want to be the one who’s on the wall resting. You just want to push yourself to be just as good.”

Humans of Harker: Vivian Wang develops resilience through swimming

by Laura Wu, TALON People Editor • February 8, 2018

The long practices, the grueling sets, stopwatch ticking every hundredth of a second. For some, pools might conjure up images of carefree summers. But competitive swimmer Vivian Wang (12) associates pools...

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